Shinji: Warrior of the Beast Fist
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: Shinji, at age 4, was left alone by his father for his teacher to pick up. However, his teacher never came. Instead, someone else did. Now 14, Shinji is back and not gonna take any crap from anyone no more.
1. The Beast Warrior's Debut Battle

"_We're Sorry. All Lines Are Currently Out Of Order..."_

Shinji Ikari hung up the phone and looked around the deserted city called Tokyo-3.

Shinji Ikari, 14, grumbled as he waited for someone to pick him up. He'd tried the phone but for some reason the phone lines were dead. Whatever was going on had to have something to do with why he was called here in Tokyo-3.

Shinji was dressed in a purple short sleeved shirt over a black t-shirt with a purple scratch mark on it and the letters SCRTC under the mark. He also wore black slacks and comfortable white tennis shoes.

"I'd rather be training with sensei," Shinji said as he recalled his teacher fondly. "Why should I bother coming to see the old man when he left me?" He then remembered what'd happened ten years ago…

* * *

_A 4-year old Shinji cried and cried. His mother was gone and his father just left him behind. What had he done to deserve such treatment? He'd been a good boy, right? If he was a good boy then did why did his mommy disappear inside of the big purple monster? Why did his daddy leave him here and drive away?_

"_Hey, kid, what's wrong?" he heard and he turned around to see a man in a purple jacket. He had spiked up black hair and a kind face._

"_M-my father," Shinji hiccupped, "H-he l-l-left me b-b-behind!" Shinji sobbed. The man frowned._

'_What kind of father leaves his kid behind like this? Damn bastard,' he thought. "So, what are you doing here?"_

"_Someone's gonna come and pick me up, but he hasn't come. I've been waiting for hours," Shinji told him. He knew his mother had told him before not to talk to strangers, but he was feeling lonely right now._

"_I'm Gou," the man introduced himself, tapping his forehead with his right fist. "What's yours?"_

"_Shinji."_

"_Want to come with me?"_

* * *

'_Saying yes was probably the best decision I ever made_,' thought Shinji fondly. He then stiffened.

Shinji immediately looked up and saw a girl in what appeared to be a school uniform standing several feet away. Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were red. Oddly enough, her hair was bright blue. Shinji wasn't sure what to make of her, but before he could ask her anything, some birds flying away captured his attention. Turning back, he saw that the strange girl was gone. Before he could contemplate, he started feeling uneasy.

'_I sense something_,' he thought as he looked up and noticed a squadron of military planes headed for a much larger object that was walking. '_Ugly, but powerful. Bigger than the GekiBeasts too…lest they combined.' _

The jets bombarded the large greenish monster while Shinji just looked on. To his shock, the beast managed to shoot down one of the planes with some kind of energy lance in its arm. The plane itself exploded in a cross-shape formation. It hit the ground not to far away from Shinji, but he only backed away slightly to avoid shrapnel. Just as he considered summoning some GekiBeasts, a speeding car slammed its breaks and came to a stop next to Shinji.

Inside the car was a woman who was wearing a red uniform. Shinji guessed that it was military and most likely from the people who his father ordered around. She had long purple hair and despite the seriousness of the situation, she still had a kind of carefeeness in her eyes.

"Are you Shinji Ikari?" the attractive looking woman inside asked.

"Are you Misato Katsuragi?" he replied.

"Yes," she replied.

"Why aren't you wearing your tank top?" he asked, confirming her question, as she had sent him a picture of her in shorts and a low-cut tank top, as the boy got inside the car. Misato just smirked slightly, proud that her photo had managed to catch the young man's attention.

Once Shinji was secured, she hit the accelerator and sped off in a hurry towards NERV, all the while Shinji kept his eyes focused forwards.

Suddenly, Shinji's Ki senses picked up a strong wave of urgency.

"Misato, get down!" he shouted, realizing that the planes attacking the creature were flying off.

"What?" she asked, then she saw it. "N2 MINE!"

She grabbed Shinji and covered his body with her own. However, the angle that Misato had pulled him into had the boy's face buried in her crotch, which he barely noticed as a massive explosion sent the blue car spinning over and over.

When it finally came to a stop on its side Shinji found Misato sprawled out on top of him.

"You can get off me now," said Shinji.

"Huh? OH!" the older woman shrieked as she climbed off of Shinji and out of the car. "I'm sorry about that!"

"You reek of beer," Shinji said as he got out of the car after her.

"I do?" she grimaced.

"Yeah, but it's not as bad as some of the stuff I've smelt before," he said with a smile.

"Oh, okay," she said, her mood returning to normal. Still, she felt a little apprehensive about smelling of booze. She didn't drink that much, did she? And her uniform was still fresh…sort of. She had picked it up off the ground

After getting the car back on its wheels, the pair was once again on their way. Of course, they were only able to do that after Misato plundered an auto-parts store for a new battery. She only needed one, but had filled her backseat with more. Her flimsy excuse was that she may need them 'in case of emergency'.

"So, I imagine it's going to be quite a surprise to see your father," Misato said.

"Not unless he's had a sex change and started smiling," Shinji commented. Those were the last two things in the world he expected his father to do. Well, that and actually be a father in the first place.

That actually got a laugh from Misato. She had dealt with Shinji's father many times in the past. She also knew that Shinji had named the least likely things to happen with the stoic man. Just hearing someone talking about him that way was enough to make her laugh.

"So, we're going to see my old man, huh?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. You do know what your father does, don't you?"

"Nothing humanitarian, I bet."

"Nothing humanitarian? NERV's purpose is to defeat the Angels, and your father is the head of that organization."

"How?" Shinji cocked an eyebrow. If Gendo Ikari couldn't be bothered to give a damn about his own son, then how the hell did he become the head of an organization that defended humanity?

"Well we have these things called...never mind, you'll see."

The rest of the ride was continued in silence, which Shinji used to think over exactly what it was that his masters had taught him and how he had gotten to be this way.

They were an odd bunch and had become Shinji's surrogate family. They were supportive and nurturing. They taught Shinji many, many things, but the most important thing was to fight for the sake of justice.

Shinji started to wonder just how much fun he could have in his father's organization and with the people inside it. If his father was expecting an obedient tool, he had another thing coming.

He turned and looked out the window.

"Whoa, an actual Geofront," he said, honestly impressed with the size of the underground base.

"Yup," Misato said proudly. "It's our last hope of standing against the Angels."

* * *

The tram-ride had been pleasant enough, but the escalator ride was funny to Shinji because Misato was lost. It wasn't that he was sure they passed through this section before. It wasn't even that Misato seemed to be regarding a map several times and checking her surroundings. It was the fact that she was holding it upside-down and still following it was a big tip-off.

"We're lost, aren't we?" he smirked.

"Well, that's what these mobile walkways are for," she said while behind him.

"Nice breeze in this place. Glad I'm not wearing a skirt," he said, ducking to avoid her swinging fist.

"How did you..." she asked in confusion.

"I made a joke at your expense, why wouldn't you try to smack me?" he asked, looking back at the stunned woman as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Obviously he had dealt with women who reacted that way before. Well…more like witnessed what those kinds of women did to others.

"Uh... right."

* * *

The elevator opened up to reveal an attractive blonde woman in a white labcoat and swimsuit. Shinji gawked. She was definitely a scientist, despite her apparent supermodel good looks.

'_WHOA! She's THAT smart and a looker?'_ he thought as he paused. '_HOLY SHIT!! ELEHUNG AND SHARKIE WOULD LOVE TO MEET HER!'_

Shinji wasn't kidding either. It was no secret and Elehung and Sharkie had a thing for cute women. Well, Elehung was more vocal about it than Sharkie usually was. Just telling them what Ritsuko looked like would bring them running. He was half-tempted to do that just to see how the scientist would react.

"Is this the Third Child?" Ritsuko asked.

"I'll be your first if you want?" he smiled, batting his eyes like a girl.

Growing up, Shinji was surrounded by several beautiful women. With them being such good friends and giving him tips about girls, Shinji was confident in his skills with women. Well, he knew not to follow Elehung's advice anyway. He still wanted to know how Jan captured the interest of a celebrity, but the older man seemed clueless that she even saw him that way.

Misato laughed while Ritsuko just held a stunned look on her face. This kid was far from what she was expecting of Gendo Ikari's son. Obviously things hadn't gone out as planned in Gendo's scenario concerning his son.

"He's a little on the comic side," Misato chuckled.

"Definitely didn't get that from his father," the blonde said, offhandedly.

"Speaking of which, how is the walking deadbeat?" Shinji asked.

"You mean the commander." Ritsuko corrected.

"If that's what you want to call him. Personally I'd call him the winner of the 'World's Worst Dad Award'," Shinji elaborated.

Ritsuko managed to keep a straight face, but even she looked ready to crack a smile

"So, I suppose we're going to be given the grand tour of NERV?" Shinji asked.

"This way," Ritsuko said.

Shinji and Misato were lead to the Eva cages where Shinji was introduced to the giant purple-colored, horn-headed mecha surrounded by red liquid. His first response was natural.

"It's ugly," he stated. Even SaiDain looked better in its Beast Mode.

"Hey!" Ritsuko shouted' "I'll have you know that this highly advanced synthetic weapon, built here in secret, is mankind's last line of defense against the Angels."

"And you want me to pilot it," Shinji said.

"Yes."

"Hello, Shinji. It's been awhile," a voice from above said.

Everyone looked up to see Gendo Ikari standing in a large observation booth. His eyes narrowed in a glare. How dare this man call for him when he hadn't gotten a word from him in 10 years? Well, Sha-Fu had told him to do what was best for the people…even working with the enemy.

The room suddenly started shaking.

"The Angel is advancing," another female voice said over the intercom.

"We're moving out," Gendo said.

"Shinji, we need you..." Ritsuko started to say.

"No," the boy interrupted.

"What?" she asked as everyone froze.

"I'm not piloting for you, old man," Shinji said to Gendo. "I don't owe you a damn thing, so you can get in this thing and pilot it yourself."

Gendo just looked at the boy as he continued.

"Unless you can't. Unless the weapon you built requires someone _special_ to pilot it," Shinji mocked.

"You are not special," Gendo said.

"Then why was _I_ called back and no one else?" he grinned.

"Then you agree to pilot."

"Give me a better reason to do it than for you."

"Fuyutsuki, wake up Rei," he said.

"But she's injured," Fuyutsuki protested.

"But she's not dead yet," Gendo replied.

Shinji frowned as he saw a pair of nurses and a doctor wheel an injured young girl out into the cages on a gurney.

"You bastard!" Shinji shouted. First his 'father' calls for him after ten long years, and now he was putting a girl who looked barely alive to pilot a monstrosity to combat a monstrosity. No way! His inner beast was raging right now but Shinji needed to rein it in.

Suddenly, the whole base shook again. Steel beams fell from the ceiling as Shinji raced over to the girl as she got jarred off the gurney. He caught her as she fell to the ground, the steel beams heading for them. Suddenly, a giant purple hand exploded from the red liquid, knocking the steel beams away from them, hitting the glass Gendo was on the other side of.

"Unit 01 activated!" a female voice over the intercom.

"How? That's impossible! The power socket wasn't inserted!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Then how..." Misato asked as she noticed Shinji holding Rei. "It's him."

Gendo was just grinning.

While everyone was staring, Shinji was using his Ki to ease her pain. Those tips for healing were sure earning their worth now.

"It's alright. I won't let anyone hurt you again," he said as his Ki did its work. He turned back to Gendo. "I'll do it."

Gendo smiled.

"However," Shinji continued. "You had better give me a damn good reason why I should stay to save your sorry butt. After what I saw, I should feed you to that thing and see if it will go away."

Shinji then started walking to the giant mecha. Misato followed to help him get in, but there was something about him now that was making her feeling hesitant in getting close. Almost as if there was a ferocious animal held back by a single fragile leash.

You wanted to be a fair distance away when that leash finally broke.

* * *

'_Honestly, this stuff is nasty. It smells like blood,_' Shinji thought as he sat in the pilot seat as the entry plug filled with LCL. '_Gonna need to get my clothes dry-cleaned_. _And these were a gift too_'

"Don't worry, Shinji," said Misato. "You can breathe in the LCL."

"What's his synch ratio?" Ritsuko asked inside the control room.

"It's…it's at 95.7!" Maya Ibuki gasped.

"WHAT? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! It's just... IMPOSSIBLE!" Ritsuko gasped.

From the elevated platform, Gendo and Fuyutsuki just stared.

"Maybe the boy _is_ special," the older man said.

"We'll see," Gendo grimaced, still not liking the attitude that the boy was sporting. The boy should have been meek, weak-willed, and desperate for any kind of positive attention. However, now he was confrontational, confident, and didn't have any respect for him. Something had gone wrong and now the scenario would be given a large amount of sand in the gears.

Misato was smirking. "EVA PREPARE TO LAUNCH!" Misato shouted from the control room.

The giant Evangelion rocketed to the surface, coming to a grating halt as it hit the streets.

"Just focus on walking, Shinji," Misato transmitted.

'_I'll think I'll do more than just walk,_' thought Shinji as he made the Eva move. All he had to do was think and it would respond. Basic mind over matter. '_Now to deal with one ugly monster before dealing with another one down there._'

Shinji let his senses spread all over the body of the Eva. From what he was receiving, the Evangelion was much more than a machine. MUCH more. It was made with flesh and blood and the energy which all living beings generated.

'_That means I can use my Gekiwaza,_' Shinji smirked to himself. Testing the movements, he tried to get the reaction timing down. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. '_That cable might make things hard too. Oh well, I like a challenge anyway._'

The Angel struck fast and aimed a fist at Unit-01, but the purple Evangelion managed to sidestep the strike and then plant an uppercut that sent the Angel reeling. The Angel got up and fired a beam. Instantly, an AT field formed and deflected the shot. Shinji had started pumping his Geki to better defend his body, but the field had come up and deflected the shot instead. He wasn't complaining about it, but he recalled the monster using a similar field when it deflected missiles from the military.

'_OK, so if it's using long ranged attacks, I should do the same,_' thought Shinji before calling out, "Gekiwaza!"

Now this was when the people in NERV were freaking out. Ritsuko's eyes went wide as did Maya's. Even Misato was stunned. Gendo's eyes widened a fraction of an inch while even Fuyutsuki gasped.

"What the HELL!?" she shouted in shock at what she was seeing. A purple aura was forming around Unit-01. It was nothing that any of the people in NERV had seen before. Never had one of the Evas revealed this kind of ability.

"Is it an AT-Field?" Ritsuko questioned.

"Sempai, it's not registering!" Maya told her.

"RO RO DAN!" Shinji called as the Ki formed into a large purple wolf emerged from the purple aura. The gigantic beast howled before charging at the Angel. The wolf crashed against the AT field, shattering it like glass. Seeing his opportunity, Shinji charged up another shot. "RO RO DAN!" A second wolf flew through the air and smashed against the Angel itself. The beast itself was hurtled backwards as the red core in the centre of its body cracked.

"Damn this thing's tough," Shinji frowned. "Well, might as well go all the way then."

The purple aura began to concentrate into Eva-01's fist, making it glow brightly, which matched its armor rather well. Seeing the Angel struggling to get back up, Shinji urged the Eva forward, having it dash towards the downed monster. It didn't even have time to bring back its AT field before Eva-01 was face to face with it. "GON GON KEN!" The mechanical beast then unleashed a terrible uppercut into the body of the monster. The fist obliterated the core and launched the monster into the air.

Sacchiel died in a blaze of glory above Tokyo-3.

Shinji yawned before he snickered, "That was easy…"

"The target has gone silent," Maya reported, but there really wasn't any need to.

"O…kay," Misato nodded. "Right, let's get some recovery teams out there. We need to get the pilot back in here and to clean up the mess the JSSDF made for us.

"What was it that we saw?" Makoto asked Shigeru in confusion.

"Not sure, but it totally rocked," the second male bridge bunny laughed. "As long as the Angels gone I'm definitely not complaining."

Meanwhile, Gendo was seeing it but didn't believe it. The scenario had changed far beyond his expectations and he definitely didn't like where it was heading. Unit-01 was supposed to awaken its berserker mode and bring the scenario one step closer to fruition. Instead, the boy had somehow accessed something never seen before and defeated the Angel with minimal effort. Sand wasn't thrown in the gears, someone had thrown a whole set of wrenches into it.

"The council will want to know about this, Ikari," Fuyutsuki commented to his former student.

"Of course," Gendo frowned. The Council of SEELE were going to be in an uproar about this. This was neither in his or their scenario.


	2. Settling In

When the Eva returned to the cages, Shinji got out of the entry plug and sniffed his wet clothes. "Smells like blood." He then looked ahead to see Misato and Ritsuko running towards him. "Hey, how did I do?" he asked.

"What the hell was that?" Ritsuko cried out. It was obviously that she was near livid about the battle. Misato had known the doctor since college and if there was one thing she knew about Ritsuko, it was that she absolutely hated things she couldn't explain.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked innocently.

"Don't give me that crap!" Ritsuko growled.

"Ritz," Misato sighed, calming her faux-blonde friend down. She turned back to Shinji. "What she means is that wolf trick you did and the uppercut you used to kill the angel."

"Oh, those," Shinji nodded innocently. The two women could still hear the smile in his voice though. "They're called the Ro Ro Dan and the Gon Gon Ken."

"Wolf-Wolf Bullet and Rigid-Rigid Fist?" asked Ritsuko with a frown. She gestured Shinji to follow her, leading him deeper into NERV so to get some medical tests done. Misato was following them, interested in hearing his story. "It looked like some kind of fighting style."

"It is," Shinji nodded. "It's from a fighting style called GekiJyuKen. I've been learning it since the old man dumped me on the side of the road."

"Who taught you all this?" asked Misato. She had read the profile of Shinji since Gendo last saw him. Apparently someone had come along after Gendo had left Shinji to a teacher to raise him.

"I've had several teachers," Shinji answered. "Twelve in total. They taught me all sorts of stuff not only about my fighting style, but about life. They are my extended family. The best a kid could ask for since Pop dropped the ball."

"Hmmm," Ritsuko frowned in thought. Gendo was going to want names of these teachers. Knowing him he'd try to get them to back off from Shinji so to make the boy more malleable, or some other form of emotional blackmail so he could keep the boy under control.

"So…how does this GekiJyuKen stuff work?" asked Misato out of genuine curiosity.

"Well, the theory of JyuKen is following the movements of beasts, emulating their abilities to create a fighting style," Shinji explained. "From that theory, three schools of fighting arts have been created from it."

"Is GekiJyuKen one of those three?" asked Ritsuko.

"Right. The Fierce Beast Fist," Shinji nodded. "There's also the RinJyuKen, otherwise called the Confrontation Beast Fist. Finally there's the GenJyuKen, also called the Mythical Beast Fist."

"What's the difference between the three?" asked Misato, getting entranced by the explanation.

"Well, GekiJyuKen, my style, it style based on self-improvement through training and hard work. One of the main tenants of the school is to use it for the betterment and protection of others," Shinji explained. "RinJyuKen is similar, but believes in using battle as a means of improvement and using the suffering of others as a source of power."

"Yeesh," Misato grimaced.

"Yeah. Pop would be good at it," Shinji frowned. "GenJyuKen actually bases its fighting styles on mythical animals like dragons, phoenix, and stuff like that. They're even worse than the previous school because they use human misery to grow stronger rather than pain."

"How can anyone use suffering and misery to grow strong?" asked Misato incredulously.

"Pop does it just fine," Shinji shrugged. "Actually the GekiJyuKen and the RinJyuKen have been bitter enemies for a long time. GenJyuKen worked to try and destroy them both which all became something I call the GekiRinGen War." After Shinji finished, he asked, "So, where is that girl now?"

"Girl?" Ritsuko then realised what he meant. "Oh, you mean Rei? She's in the infirmary."

"Can I go see her?" Shinji asked. Ritsuko blinked.

"Why?"

"Well, since we're going to be working together, I think now is the time to get to know each other," said Shinji with a grin. "Heck, maybe we'll become friends."

"Are you...sure about this?" asked Ritsuko.

"Hey, she's hurt and I basically saved her life," stated Shinji. "I could at least tell her everything is okay."

"Fine then," Ritsuko accepted the answer. "I'll tell you which room she's in."

* * *

Shinji grumbled as he made his way to the room Rei was in. He was in the medical wing of NERV and was in a sour mood. "Damned Pop. Using that girl to try and convince me to pilot. Heck, I don't need that Eva. I can just summon GekiFighter to kick that thing's ass from here to next year."

That girl Rei was an enigma if there ever was one. He was damned sure it was her that he saw before the Angel attacked, but judging from the wounds she received, there was no way that was possible. Maybe she had a twin or something.

Still, there was something up with her aura. It felt…off, for some reason. He had no idea what was wrong with the girl, but the injuries she took were a bigger concern at the moment. What the hell had happened to her? It looked like some kind of monster had mangled her or something. Well, considering the Angel that appeared, it probably wasn't that farfetched.

Finding the room, Shinji stepped inside. Sure enough, there was the blue-haired girl lying in her bed. Her bandages were still there, but the wounds probably hurt way worse now after all the bumping around in the hangers. Shinji only heard her monitor beeping and saw the steady rise and fall of her chest, indicating she was possibly asleep.

As Shinji got closer, her uncovered eye opened with her red eye staring back in his blue ones.

"Hello, Rei," Shinji nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"…adequate," was all the stoic girl said. "Why are you in my room, Pilot Ikari?"

"I wanted to make sure you didn't die or something," Shinji replied, a little confused at how calm she was despite her injuries. "I mean, you did get knocked around pretty bad. It probably didn't help the injuries you have."

"…I will heal," Rei answered. "If I do not, I am easily replaceable."

"WHAT?" Shinji cried out. "Replaceable? What do you mean?"

"Should I die, another will take my place," Rei answered simply. It seemed like the most obvious thing in the world to her.

Still, Rei had felt, odd, since she met the new pilot of Unit-01. It wasn't pain, she was used to that. But…something he did when he held her. She could feel where he was within a certain distance. She just felt, drawn to him. Still, she couldn't leave the bed so she just lay back and tried to analyze the feeling. It was new, but not entirely unpleasant. Hearing that Shinji was concerned over her well-being somehow made the sensation intensify.

"Don't you say that. My teachers say that all life is precious. Nobody is replaceable. We're all special. Individuals," Shinji said to her.

"I'm not special," she objected softly.

"Then whoever told you this must be wrong or stupid," he told her harshly. "My teachers taught me that all of us are special in a way and cannot be easily replaced." If only he knew her origins.

"Why do you show concern for me, a stranger?" she asked, confused by his intentions for visiting her.

"Well, why shouldn't I be concerned? You're hurt and lying here in pain. It's the natural thing to do," he said. "Well, that's what Master Byon always said."

"Master Byon?"

"Oh, sorry. Well, he's one of the teachers who raised me. You could say he was my surrogate uncle or something," said Shinji with a grin.

"The Angel," she began. "How did you defeat it?"

"Oh, I piloted that huge machine and basically went to town with it with my GekiJyuKen."

"GekiJyuKen?" She had not heard of such a thing. "Fierce Beast Fist?"

"Yup. I practice the Fierce Beast Fist ever since I was four," Shinji explained.

Neither of them realised they were being monitored by Gendo.

* * *

Inside of his office, the cold commander of NERV watched his son interact with his masterpiece. He had not seen Rei interact with someone this way except for him. It was hardly worrisome, but the boy himself might try to break her conditioning. That was intolerable and had to be corrected.

"Have Section 2 look into the Third Child's history and find the names of everyone remotely connected to him," Gendo ordered his Vice-Commander.

"Emotional leverage?" the former teacher asked, but he already knew the answer. He had known Gendo far too long to be unable to anticipate his thoughts. It was a shame that he couldn't do anything about it at this point.

"He is a loose cannon," Gendo replied. "For the scenario to succeed, I must have some kind of control over him. Otherwise there will be risks that neither I nor SEELE can afford to ignore."

"I'll see to it," Fuyutsuki nodded. A flashing light on Gendo's desk caught both men's attention. "It seems the council is ready for you."

"Indeed," Gendo frowned. Oh how he despised the old men who fashioned themselves as puppeteers. Eventually they would discover otherwise, but by then his own scenario would be complete and they would have no ability to do otherwise.

* * *

After visiting Rei, Shinji found out about his living arrangements. Apparently he'd be staying with Misato at her apartment. Then they got there, Shinji recoiled in horror when she opened the door. The stench of beer really reeked and he could smell other putrid smells coming from the apartment.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I haven't had time to clean up, lately."

"Since when? The Stone Age?" he questioned as the smells got to him. He'd seen horrible living spaces before but this was something he'd never encountered. '_How the hell can someone like her be so messy!_'

"OK, funny guy, there's an empty room," she told him. "You can set your stuff there."

"Hai, hai," Shinji nodded as he dragged his bags into the room he designated as his own. Quickly getting his things out, he found his cellphone. Luckily the battery was still charged. Dialling in a number, he waited as the phone rang.

"_Moshi moshi?_" asked the voice on the other end.

"Hey, Sha-Fu-sensei," Shinji smiled. "It's me, Shinji."

"_Ah, Shinji-kun_," the voice on the other side of the line spoke happily. "_It is good that you called. Did you conclude your business with your father?_"

"Sadly, no," Shinji sighed. "This is way bigger than we thought. He wants me to pilot this huge mecha to fight against giant monsters."

"_Indeed? How unexpected_," Sha-Fu frowned. "_I know you do not like the man, but you do know this is for the greater good_."

"I know, I know," Shinji sighed. "I still don't like the idea of following orders from the man who decided he had better things to do than raise his own son."

"_You will persevere_," Sha-Fu assured his student.

"Yeah. Tell everyone I said hi. I'll call again. Right now I have to help my guardian clean up her sty," Shinji sighed. With that, he ended the call and put the phone in his pocket. "OK, time to get to business."

* * *

It didn't take long for Shinji to learn that Misato's diet was composed of instant curry, instant ramen and beer...lots and lots of beer. Also, he found out about her pet, Pen-Pen, a penguin who lived in a fridge. This didn't faze him, really, since one of his teachers was an anthropomorphic penguin.

Shinji was good at cooking and cleaning, better than Misato could ever do. When she asked how he could be so good, he quoted, "In everything there is training." This just confused her.

He also went to visit Rei whenever he had free time. He enjoyed telling her about his life and she seemed interested too. However, she was rather introverted. Still, maybe he could change that.

He never saw his father during this time and he preferred it that way. He just couldn't stand being close to the man who basically tossed him away and then called him after ten years because he 'needed' him. Some father. Winner of the Worst Father of the Year award: Gendo Ikari.

Shinji also kept up with his GekiJyuKen training and practiced his kata. Misato would come and watch and become impressed by how fluid his movements were. This style was definitely more than it seemed.

And then…the first day of school.

* * *

Shinji was standing across from a jock named Toji Suzuhara who looked angry and Shinji wondered what he could've done to make this guy angry at him. He'd just shown up on the first day and someone asked him on his laptop if he was the pilot. All he did was answer truthfully and then the rest of the class made a big deal out of it, especially a bespectacled kid named Kensuke Aida. Then, Toji called him out which was why Shinji was here.

"OK, what do you have to say to me?" asked Shinji.

"Because of you and your robot, my little sister got hurt!" Toji accused.

"Wasn't she supposed to be in one of the shelters?" asked Shinji, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well...yeah," answered Toji hesitantly.

"Oh, I see. Because you couldn't protect her, she got hurt, but instead of taking responsibility for it, you decided to blame me," guessed Shinji, rolling his eyes as well.

"SHUT UP!" Toji roared as he lunged at Shinji and threw a punch. Shinji had his hands in his pockets and sidestepped Toji's punch. Toji stumbled and then tried for another punch, which Shinji dodged. "Stand still!" Toji ordered but Shinji was not complying. Toji attacked but Shinji would just dodge. Toji panted tiredly as he looked up at Shinji in anger. "Damn you...why won't you stand still and let me hit you?"

"I have a right to defend myself," Shinji retorted, "And you don't want to fight me," he added as he walked over to a tree. He tapped it to make sure it was solid before he smashed his fist against it, hard. Kensuke and Toji gaped as they saw the indent Shinji had made in the tree. A DEEP indent. Shinji withdrew his fist and flicked his wrist, shaking off some of the splinters. "See what I mean?" He then followed up with a roundhouse kick that broke the tree in half and caused it to fall. "Now, do you wanna kick my ass or not?" Shinji went into a stance. "This time I won't dodge."

Toji and Kensuke were both frozen and stunned. Seeing that they weren't reacting, Shinji sighed and took his hands out of his pocket. In his right hand was a fan and he quickly spread it out to fan his face. "Che, you wanted to fight and now you don't wanna fight? Are you sure you're a man?"

That got Toji reacting and with a shout he charged and threw a fist at Shinji. Shinji used his fan to, not only deflect the blow, but to send Toji falling to the ground. "I win," said Shinji simply. His cell phone rang and he picked it up, placing it against his ear. "Hello? Really? I'm there." He then walked off. At the same time the alarms suddenly blared.

Kensuke walked over to check up on his friend and said, "Dude, he kicked your ass, with a fan."

"Don't wanna talk about it and don't you dare tell anybody," threatened Toji.

* * *

"So, an Angel?" Shinji guessed as he stood in his plug suit. At first he'd been given one that was white and dark blue with some black accents and the number 01 on it. He then requested if he could get one in purple to match his Eva which was what he was wearing now.

"Yes," Misato nodded. "All we can tell is that this one isn't even remotely similar to the last one. Be careful."

"I'm always careful," Shinji snickered. He headed over to his Eva. "I'll see you when I get this thing."

* * *

Shinji grimaced as he dodged one of the whips that the Angel used as its primary weapons. Misato all but demanded him to use the gun that was made for the Evas. Shinji knew it wouldn't work, but he decided to humour the NERV crew. He opened fire, but the AT Field of the Angel had blocked every shot. Abandoning the gun, Shinji started dodging every attack.

"So guns don't work," Shinji muttered. "Who was the genius that decided to try guns on a monster that can block any long range attack?"

"_Hey!_" Ritsuko's voice cried over the comm.

"Oh, _that _genius," Shinji snickered. "I guess geniuses have their off days."

Dodging another whip strike which had sliced a building in half, Shinji decided that enough was enough. He quickly slipped into a battle stance. It was one he was familiar with, but it wasn't Wolf-ken.

"Better get it out of the city," said Shinji as he had the Eva-01 make a dash out of the area and into an open field. The Angel followed as it attacked.

The Angel lashed out with its whip, but Eva-01 slipped past the attack with ease. The Angel continued to fight, but Shinji managed to slip past every attack. Once he got close enough, his Eva's AT Field clashed against the Angel's negating them both. With his opportunity, Shinji twisted the Eva around, letting the claws of the Eva slit a deep gouge into the Core of the Angel, bringing out a screech. Surprisingly, the Angel began backing away from the Eva, attempting to bring its AT Field back.

Out of the corner of the Eva's eyes, Shinji then too note of two people watching the battle. Two people who were supposed to be in the shelters and a pair of civilians he knew well.

"Suzuhara? Aida? What the hell!" Shinji exclaimed. This moment of distraction allowed the Angel to attack with its whips and knock him to the ground. "Kuso!"

"_Shinji, don't get distracted!_" Misato ordered.

"Sorry, Misato, but there are two civilians here! I'm gonna bring them into the Eva!"

"_You can't!_" Ritsuko objected. "_It will mess up with your synch."_

Shinji, however, pretended not to hear and started making fake static, "Sorry (fake static), you're breaking up! (More fake static) I can't hear you (some more fake static)!"

"_Pilot Ikari! Don't you dare ignore me! Hey! HEY!_"

Shinji ignored her and opened the plug. With one hand he grabbed Kensuke and Toji and brought them in for safety. The two boys saw Shinji sitting, piloting the Eva, and he didn't look pleased. "You know, it's pretty stupid to be wandering around when giants are duking it out," said Shinji.

"Not my fault," snorted Toji. "Kensuke here wanted to get up close."

"This is so cool!" Kensuke shouted. "We're inside the Eva, Toji!"

Shinji rolled his eyes and focused his attention the Angel as he got his Eva up. "OK, this time it's time to bring out something familiar!" He then focused and made them real.

In Eva-01's hands, a pair of fans appeared and this got everyone in NERV staring, especially when the mecha spread them out. They were war fans with sharp edges.

"Are those fans?" Misato asked.

"Those were not in the design specs," muttered Ritsuko. She was trying to figure Shinji out but after the medical tests there was still no way she could find anything abnormal about him, except that he was really fit from whatever this GekiJyuKen thing was. He said it was a fighting style, but no style should be able to do the things Shinji had demonstrated. It was just not possible.

The Eva then began to move like it was dancing and in fact it looked like it was. It was twirling the fans around, blocking and deflecting the Angel's whipping attacks with ease.

"Alright, let's see if Bat Li-sensei's training works!" Shinji said, "Gekiwaza!"

"Gekiwaza?" Toji and Kensuke repeated.

"GekiFan Chu-Chu Zan!"

The Eva leapt up and performed a spin as it fell towards the Angel. It struck with its whips but the fans' sharp edges cut through and sliced the appendages off. When the Eva landed, Shinji decided to perform another attack.

"Gekiwaza! GekiFan Sho Sho Dan!" Shinji called, getting another attack ready.

A night blue aura covered the fan as Shinji channelled his Bat Geki through his Eva's arms. It then pooled into the fans that he had conjured, making them flare with the aura. Eva 01 then leaped forward, its arms slashing much faster than the designers ever expected. The stunned Bridge Crew could actually see the afterimages of the arms as they attacked the Angel's head and core.

"Ritz…can Evas do that?" Misato asked incredulously.

"No!" Ritsuko cried. She was one moment away from tearing her hair out. "This was never expected to happen! Evas can't conjure fans and they can't move that fast!"

Outside, Eva 01 had been flipping over the Angel and attacking, looking almost like a bat in the air as it reached the apex of its flight. It twisted over the beast and landed on its feet again. It folded up the fans and held them behind its back. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the Angel to attack again. However, the beast's core split into quarters and shattered. The Angel itself didn't fare much better as its front and top began falling apart into cubes. Finally, the Angel just collapsed into a shredded mess on the ground.

Shamshel fell to pieces with his death.

"Woah," Toji gaped.

"This is…so COOL!" Kensuke grinned maniacally. "I can die happy now!"

"Is he always like that?" Shinji asked.

"Yup, and he'll never get a girlfriend or laid if he stays this way," said Toji.

"OK," Shinji agreed.

"Say...about what happened at school..." Toji began. "I'm...sorry about blaming you."

"Well, you should be, but well I'm sorry about what happened to your sister," said Shinji.

"I was supposed to watch her," said Toji.

"Yeah," Shinji agreed. "So, where can I drop you both off?"


	3. Befriending the First

After releasing Toji and Kensuke and having the Eva returned to the cages, Shinji was being interrogated by Ritsuko. Yes, she was irate about him bringing two civilians into the Eva, but most importantly she wanted to know how in the world Shinji could do all that to the Eva.

"I told you," said Shinji. "It's GekiJyuKen."

"But there's no scientific basis!" shouted Ritsuko.

"Hey, Ritz, lay off the kid," said Misato with a smile. "He won!"

"But I want answers!" Ritsuko said desperately.

"Not everything can be explained through science, Dr. Akagi," said Shinji. "But, if you want another demonstration..." He pulled a fan out of nowhere and spread it out, "I'll be happy to show you." He added, "But, first, I'm gonna go see Rei. See ya!" He then walked off to see the blue-hared girl.

"I think you should give up, Ritsuko. Whatever this GekiJyuKen and Geki stuff that Shinji throws about is exactly, it's not something you can dissect," said Misato.

"But...it just doesn't add up!" Ritsuko said.

"And that's why I drink," Misato flashed a smile.

* * *

Shinji didn't have to look far for Rei. She was just outside the hangar in her plug suit. At first Shinji tried hard not to stare since the thing showed off her figure so well. Now he was just used to it. Apparently Rei was on standby with Unit-00. Just in case something happened. That just pissed Shinji off since she still had a few of her wounds left, most prominently, the bandage covering her eye.

"Hi, Rei," Shinji grinned with a wave.

"Hello, Pilot Ikari," Rei nodded. "I have viewed your battle with the Angel. I am curious. Those fans are not part of an Eva's arsenal. How were you able to acquire them?"

"Oh, I did that," Shinji shrugged. "Just a special technique I know. I can make a few other things appear too. Maybe you'll see sometime."

"Perhaps," Rei nodded. She looked to her fellow pilot and saw that he had taken the spot next to her for some reason. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"No," Shinji answered.

"Then why are you here? Can you not acquire transportation back to your residence?" asked Rei.

"I can," Shinji nodded. "Misato will drive me home, but I would like to spend time with you, if that it okay."

"Why?" Rei asked in slight confusion. In her experience, barely anyone liked to be around her, especially Dr. Akagi.

"Because I enjoy being in your company," Shinji answered with a grin.

That confused Rei; again, her experiences told her that no one liked to be in her presence. Well, except for Commander Ikari. It confused her. Usually everyone talked to her because they desired something. Pilot Ikari just seemed content to be next to her. How...strange.

"Say, how about you and I go out and do something together?" Shinji offered, "Just you and me."

"Is this yet another attempt to enjoy my company?" asked Rei curiously.

"Yep," said Shinji.

"I may need to ask the Commander about this," said Rei. Shinji frowned.

"Rei, you don't need to ask permission to enjoy life," said Shinji. "If you did then you'd be like a bird in a cage, unable to spread its wings."

"You sound like an expert on such a subject," Rei noted.

"Yup, you can say that," said Shinji. "We gotta spread out our wings and fly." He demonstrated by spreading out his arms and taking in a deep breath.

"I do not understand," said Rei.

"Then let me show you, Rei," said Shinji, offering her his hand. Rei seemed hesitant as she stared at the offered hand and then looked up at Shinji who was smiling. For some reason she felt drawn to him. Maybe it was because she wanted to know more of him. He was different from his father in a lot of ways and she was interested in wanting to know about how he fought.

"Very well, Pilot Ikari," said Rei as she took his hand.

"Call me Shinji. We're friends, right?"

"Friends..."

"Stick with me, Rei, and I'll broaden your horizons! Trust me!"

* * *

"The scenario is being threatened," said Gendo as he watched the footage of the fight as well as the footage of Shinji getting close to Rei. At first he thought nothing would come out of it, but Shinji was getting Rei to open up more and Gendo didn't like it one bit. "Fuyutsuki, did you get that information I wanted?"

"Unfortunately not," Fuyutsuki sighed. "It was like the boy dropped off the face of the map after you left him on the side of the road. No schools have records of him attending, no dojo has even heard of this GekiJyuKen he claims to have been taught."

Gendo frowned deeply. That was not what he wanted to hear. His intent was to find out who the boy had been living with and take…liberties, to ensure that they couldn't influence the boy. However, he couldn't do that if he didn't even know who the blasted people were.

"Alternatives?" asked Fuyutsuki.

"Continue searching," Gendo ordered. "People just can't be invisible. There has to be some clue somewhere."

"And in the meantime?"

"I will have to limit his interaction with Rei," Gendo frowned. "His influence cannot be allowed."

"Can he really be considered that much of a threat?" Fuyutsuki asked. Surely Gendo's emotional conditioning couldn't be destroyed that easily.

Gendo frowned. He made Rei completely obedient and more than willing to follow his scenario. She had no interest in things children her age should, but Shinji was proving a threat to that conditioning. The question was, how had Shinji gotten his foot in the door?

* * *

"Don't you have anything else to wear?" Shinji asked as he and Rei walked in the city. She was in her school uniform while he was wearing his purple short sleeved jacket over a black t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.

"What I have on is adequate enough," said Rei.

"I guess, but girls your age have more variety in their fashion," said Shinji as he recalled one of his senseis.

"Why?" Rei asked.

"Well...I guess...they just want to look pretty?" Shinji answered.

"I am not pretty," she answered. That made Shinji freeze in his tracks.

"Hold on!" he said as he suddenly got in front of her, "I don't know who's been telling you all these things (though I have a good guess), but you are a pretty girl."

Rei couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth when he said that. It was rising to her cheeks. "Pilot Ikari..."

"Shinji."

"Shinji, do not lie to me," she said.

"I'm not lying, Rei," he said. "I mean not many girls have skin as fair as yours, eyes so red or hair so blue." He added, "You're unique and in my book that makes you the prettiest girl ever."

Shinji learnt a lot about complimenting girls from Elehung and Sharkie. Well...though some of their lines were a bit perverted, especially Elehung's, Shinji knew just what to say to a girl to make her feel good about herself.

"Girls like to be complimented," they once told him, "Its better when you mean it."

Shinji did mean what he said. He did think she was pretty, special and unique. He was honest with her.

"Thank you, Shinji," she said. Shinji smiled and moved to walk beside her.

"So, did Pop visit you when you were in the ward?" Shinji asked.

"No," Rei answered, "Only Dr. Akagi has to check up on me, and you."

Shinji frowned. His bastard of a father hadn't even had time to visit one of his injured pilots. That just made him hate the guy more.

"I see. Of course Pop did leave me on the side of the road when I was four. Guess he didn't want to be a father so why should he care about anyone else?" Shinji said.

"You dislike the commander," said Rei, confused.

"It's more than that," said Shinji.

"I think he is a great man," said Rei.

"Guess he would seem that way, but when I look at him I see the guy who didn't bother about his own son for 10 years," retorted Shinji. "Do you know what it's like to be abandoned by your own parent?"

"I...do not," said Rei, her views on the commander shifting.

"When you're four years old and it happens it just makes you feel...worthless," said Shinji sadly. "Luckily for me I found a new family that appreciates me."

"Family," she repeated. Could she consider Commander Ikari her family? He was her legal guardian. But…he didn't play a large role in her life these days. He raised her, taught her, guided her…but now he delegated that to everyone else now. She only saw him during their appointments and when she had tests in NERV

She heard the sadness in Shinji's voice. The commander had tended to her needs growing up. Yet…Shinji had needs too. The commander was not there when he was needed. He had…abandoned his duties. But…he stressed that her duties had meant everything…but he abandoned his duties as a father.

She was confused.

"Rei?" Shinji asked in concern. His fiend was spacing out. "Are you okay?"

Rei wanted to say she was fine, but she felt inner turmoil. The commander had abandoned him for her. She felt like she was…responsible for his pain. What she learned in experience, she knew what to do.

"I…I…am s-sorry," she finally spoke.

"Huh?" Shinji blinked. "Why?"

"The commander abandoned you…for me," Rei trembled. "It's my fault. You're in pain. He raised me…but abandoned you."

Rei felt a terrible clench in her throat as she considered what Shinji felt by being abandoned. Moistness was surrounding her eyes and making it hard for her to see. The clenching of her throat made it harder to speak. She did not like this feeling. She wanted it to go away. It made her feel terrible.

Then she felt warm arms encircle her waist and pull her against an equally warm body. She let out a gasp of surprise when she felt Shinji hug her, resting his chin on her shoulder and against her head.

"Don't blame yourself," he said, "It's not your fault."

"But..." Rei began. He shushed her.

"You didn't choose to become his favourite," Shinji said, "Pop made the choice. It's not your fault."

"You don't resent me?"

"Why should I?"

Rei felt the tears fall and asked, "What is happening to me?"

"You're crying," he answered.

"Crying?" She had never cried before or felt this way. "Is something wrong with me?"

"It's only natural," he said. He pulled away and smiled at her before using his thumb to wipe the tears away, "but I actually prefer it if you smile."

Rei didn't know why but then her lips curled into a smile that Shinji found very pretty on her. He smiled back at her and winked. "See?" he said, "You are pretty!"

"Thank you, Shinji," she said. Shinji took out a handkerchief for her to use to wipe her tears.

"Say, why don't we both get a bite to eat?" he asked.

"That would be acceptable," Rei nodded. "However, I do not like meat."

"Vegetarian, eh?" Shinji smiled. "Well, don't worry about it. I know a few places where you can get something along those lines. It won't bother you if I eat meat will it?"

"No," Rei answered. "I just do not like meat."

"Then we're set," Shinji grinned.

* * *

Rei lay back in her apartment, recalling how her day went. She had…enjoyed, having a meal with him. She had never been in a restaurant before so it was a new experience for her. She liked it.

Shinji was energetic and open with his emotions. He displayed obvious dislike towards the commander, but didn't show an ounce of it to her. In fact, all he had shown her was kindness this far. She found the experience pleasant.

She also recalled when Shinji hugged her. That was very unexpected. No one had ever hugged her before in her life. Shinji did it because he wished to comfort her and assure her that he did not see her at fault for Commander Ikari abandoning him. She recalled the warmth his body generated and a warm sensation entered her cheeks, making them turn a pale red. That was a new experience that she would like to feel again.

Experimenting, she wrapped her own arms around herself. She could feel the warmth in her arms, but I didn't feel the same as when Shinji had hugged her. Letting go, she looked at the ceiling again.

Shinji would be at school tomorrow. She could ask him to hug her again then. She wished to feel those strange sensations again.

* * *

"You went on a date with Rei!" Misato shouted in shock, after spewing out her beer.

Shinji sighed and answered, "It wasn't a date. I just took her out for a walk and then we got a bite to eat at a restaurant."

"Sounds like a date to me," said Misato cheekily. She then looked thoughtful, "Still, it's a little odd. Rei doesn't interact with people aside from Ritz and the commander.

"Don't mention that man here," said Shinji with a deep scowl as his arms were crossed.

"Sore subject?" Misato questioned.

"He left me on the side of the road like a piece of trash," stated Shinji. "What else would it be?"

"Sorry, I won't mention him again," said Misato apologetically. "So…how was your date?"

Shinji decided to humour her and said, "It was nice. We got to know each other a little better."

"So, you thinking of asking her out again?" Misato questioned.

Shinji looked on ahead with a smile. "Maybe."

"Good," said Misato. "She does need to have fun like other kids her age. I don't think she has any friends."

"That's where you're wrong, Misato," said Shinji as he pointed to himself, "I'm her friend."

"More like boyfriend!" Misato laughed. She then saw Shinji get up. "Hey, where are you off to?"

"My room. I need to train," he said before leaving the woman in the living room. '_And to give some friends a call_.'


	4. Getting to Know the First

The next day at school, Shinji was leaning against the desk he was stationed at. The craziness about him being the pilot of Unit 01 had died down. His fifteen seconds of fame were up it seemed. He didn't like it too much anyway.

Hearing the door slide open, he turned to see Rei walking into the classroom. She had removed the last of her bandages and looked as good as new. Without them, Shinji had to admit that she was every bit as pretty as he thought she would be.

Rei walked in as silent as she always did, but she seemed later than usual. Shinji really didn't think too much about it. Rei walked into the rows of desks, but it wasn't towards her own. It was towards Shinji's. The young man looked up to see that his friend had come to a stop next to him.

"Hello, Rei," Shinji smiled. "It's nice to see that you're out of your bandages."

"Thank you," Rei nodded. She began to look uncomfortable. "Shinji, may I ask you something?"

"Always," Shinji nodded.

"Would you hug me again?" she asked bluntly.

All movement in the room stopped. All eyes had gone to Rei and Shinji. People were wondering if they heard her right. Was she actually asking for a hug? The girl with less emotional depth than a rock was asking to be hugged? By asking 'again' it meant that Shinji had hugged her before. What was more surprising was Shinji's answer.

"Sure, Rei," Shinji grinned.

Standing up, Shinji wrapped his arms around Rei and held her close. Her hands were resting on his chest and her head resting against his shoulder. Some boys were giving catcalls to the pair. Rei had her eyes closed and just seemed to be giving into the experience.

In fact Rei was. She wanted to learn about the sensation that Shinji instilled by hugging her. Still, it was very…pleasant. She enjoyed it. She had wanted to analyze it, but her mind just kept coming back to the warmth and the feeling of his arms wrapping around her.

Tentatively, Rei decided to return the gesture and her hands slid down his chest so that her own arms could wrap around him. This got them pressed together further and Shinji blushed when he felt her chest pressed against his own.

Kensuke immediately had his camera out and taking pictures as the girls in the class just stared and gawk at the pair. This was definitely something new.

Rei then pulled away and smiled at Shinji who smiled right back. "So, how was it?"

"It…felt good," she admitted, her cheeks pink. She then went to her seat as Shinji watched.

The pilot was immediately flanked by both Toji and Kensuke who both wanted details.

"Dude, are you and Ayanami dating or something?" Toji asked.

"We're just good friends…" said Shinji. '_For now_…'

"But Ayanami never lets anybody close! How do you do it?" Kensuke asked, wanting to know Shinji's secret.

"That's…a secret," said Shinji with a wink. The two boys deflated.

* * *

During gym class, Shinji was sitting on the sidelines at the track field. However, his eyes glanced up to where Rei was sitting at the pool that was on the roof. She was in her bathing suit. Rei then looked over to his direction. Their eyes were locked and Shinji waved. She waved right back at him.

"Checking out Rei?" Kensuke teased.

"I guess you could call it that," Shinji shrugged. "She is really nice to look at."

"Yeah, maybe to you," Toji sighed. "She's like a block of ice to everyone else though. She's been like that ever since she started coming to school. You sure you don't want to tell how you got her to hug you?"

"My secret," Shinji grinned. This just made both boys groan. "Honestly, I was just there for her. No one else really is."

As the boys were talking, Rei's gaze remained on Shinji. She ran through the experience of hugging Shinji in her mind. It was just as pleasant as she remembered. Even more than she remembered. The experience felt even better with the warmth she felt in her own arms. Rei resolved that she would like to share the experience with Shinji again.

Looking back to the pool, she saw that several girls from her class were chatting and stealing glances at her. They kept talking about the hug she gave Shinji and what it could possibly mean. Several of them feared that she had 'taken' him.

'_Taken?_' she thought. '_How could I take Shinji? He is over at the track field._'

* * *

It was after school and Rei was packing up to head home when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see that it was Shinji, smiling at her. "Hey, Rei, you mind if I walk you home today?"

"Walk me home?" Rei questioned. "Why?"

"Well, that's what friends do together. Besides, a gentleman's job is to escort the lady home."

"Very well, Shinji," said Rei as she accepted the offer. "You may escort me home."

* * *

When Shinji followed Rei to the neighbourhood she lived in, he was appalled by the environment. It just wasn't safe for a girl like her to live alone in a place like this. There were homeless people digging for scraps and various unsightly figures that didn't look all that wholesome.

Rei's apartment was worse. There wasn't even a lock and when they entered Shinji's eyes widened.

"Rei…this is where you live?" he asked.

"Yes, it is," she answered. "Is something wrong?"

"Did Pop set this up?"

"Yes, he did."

Now Shinji was livid, "Rei, nobody should be allowed to live here! It's not even clean!"

"I am comfortable here," she said.

"Are you? Really?" he asked. "Tell me the truth, Rei, are you?"

"I…"

"Rei, the door doesn't even have a lock! What if someone breaks in here and…and…" Shinji just couldn't think of it. It was horrible. "Rei, we have to get you moved someplace else!"

"Shinji, why do you care for me so much?" she asked.

"Do you need to ask? We're friends! Friends care about each other!" Impulsively, he hugged her.

Again Rei was enveloped in the warm feeling of Shinji's embrace. Although, it was a little different this time. Shinji was…deeply concerned about her. He did not feel that she was adequately protected in her residence. No one came to the building so why should she have a lock? Still, he was worried about her health and safety.

"I…see," Rei nodded as she returned the hug. "I have much to learn."

Releasing Rei, he turned back to the apartment, "Seriously though Rei, this place isn't safe for you. Comfort is one thing, but there is also security to consider. I'd hate it if someone came in here and hurt you."

"Thank you for your concern," Rei nodded. She meant it too. No one had shown this much concern since the commander when he pulled her out of the rampaging Unit-00. "I will procure a proper lock if it will make you feel better."

"Well, that's a start," Shinji sighed. "But…Misato has an extra room in her apartment. You're more than welcome to move in with us."

"I will…consider it," Rei answered.

With a nod of goodbye, Shinji reluctantly left the building, leaving Rei alone. As was the par with the younger Ikari, he left her mind confused again. He showed deep concern for her well-being. He feared something would happen to her should she keep living in the apartment she had been given. He even offered to share his space with her. He had been upset, but not with her. He was upset with Commander Gendo "the bastard" Ikari for giving her a space he considered unsuited for her.

She didn't know why Shinji considered her so important but…she couldn't help but like the feeling.

* * *

When Shinji came home, he could see Ritsuko and Misato sitting together in the living room. Several Yebisu beer cans littered the carpet and Pen-Pen was finishing one. Ritsuko was taking a few drags on a cigarette when she took notice of the young pilot.

"Hey, Shinji!" Misato greeted. "Join the party!"

"Maybe later," said Shinji, depressed.

The two women noted the depressed tone in his voice and so Ritsuko decided to ask, "OK, what's wrong with you?"

"I walked Rei home and I…I saw where she lived," answered Shinji. This got the two women staring.

"Wow, one date and now you're being so gallant as to walk her home," teased Misato. "You work fast, Shinji!"

"This is no joke!" he snapped furiously before he apologized, regretting his tone, "Sorry, it's just…it isn't right."

Ritsuko frowned and Misato asked, "Hey, Ritz, what's Shinji talking about?"

"You mean you don't know?" asked Shinji. He eyed Ritsuko who was silent and answered for her, "Well, Rei's living in the slums and she's living in an apartment that doesn't have much furniture, absolutely filthy, and the door has NO lock!" Ritsuko flinched under Shinji's stare.

"Really?" Misato blinked. "But why would she live there?"

"Apparently, the bastard who runs our organization set it up for her," said Shinji scornfully, "And I think you've known this all along, didn't you, Doctor?"

Ritsuko sighed, "Yes, I did."

"Ritz! I thought you were supposed to be her doctor! A place like that isn't healthy for a girl like her!" Misato said in shock.

"My hands are tied," said Ritsuko. "There's nothing I can do about it, really. The Commander ordered her to live there."

"Well, the Commander is about to hear a few words from me when I see him next time, because I asked if Rei could move in with us," said Shinji.

"Pilot Ikari, you can't just-" began Ritsuko.

"Watch me!" snapped Shinji.

Ritsuko sighed and then dug into her pocket. She said, "Well, now that you know where Rei lives, I think you should go back to give her this." She tossed the item towards Shinji who caught it in his hand. "It's Rei new ID card."

"Fine, I'll go," said Shinji. He was still thinking how lonely that girl probably was right now. That place was probably cold at night and he doubt there was any hot water running for her to take a decent shower. "I'll see you at dinner." He then walked out of the apartment.

"I think Shinji's right," said Misato to Ritsuko. "I mean if Rei's living in a place like that…"

"So, you want her to live with you? Can you support two children?" Ritsuko asked.

"I will if I have to," said Misato confidently.

* * *

Shinji was clutching the ID card in hand as he headed back to Rei's apartment. He feared for her safety. Then again, why shouldn't he. She was his friend and well he cared for her.

He arrived at her apartment and he pushed the door open. "Rei? Sorry for barging in, but the door wasn't locked." Of course not. No lock, remember? "I'm here to drop off your new ID card! OK, I'll let myself in." He didn't dare take off his shoes, not knowing what sort of germs were in there. He then looked about and frowned grimly. "No human deserves to live like this. Even animals deserve better," Shinji said to himself. Then, he noted a cupboard where a pair of glasses was sitting. "Hm?" He walked over and picked up the pair, studying them. "Looks familiar…" He then remembered. "Oh, they're his." He put the glasses down in disgust and wiped his hands against his jacket. "I sure hope I don't catch his cooties." He then studied the place. "How can someone live here and still stay clean?"

He then heard movement behind him and smiled. That was probably Rei. He turned as he began to say, "Sorry, Rei, but I came to deliver y-y-y-WARGH!"

There was Rei, in the buff, holding up a towel to her body that barely covered her. "Shinji? What are you doing back here?"

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly as he spun around, screwing his eyes shut. His face was flushed. His eyes were tightly closed but that glimpse had forever burnt the image of Rei's naked body into his mind. '_Oh, my god! She's hot! Smooth supple skin with no marks and –ACK! Think clean thought! Clean thoughts! Ramen noodles, the sky, the sky is blue, Rei's hair is blue, Rei's naked right behind-GACK!_'

"Shinji, why do you turn away from me?" she asked.

"You're naked," Shinji managed to squeak out.

"Yes I am," Rei nodded. She reached up to his shoulder "Please turn around."

"I'd rather not right now," Shinji quickly replied.

"I insist," Rei shot back as she tugged on Shinji's shoulder.

Rei gave a particularly strong pull and Shinji attempted to keep himself from being turned around. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law kicked in. Shinji put too much force into staying standing with his back turned to her and instead twisted around. He then lost his balance and collapsed onto Rei, sending them both to the ground. Even worse, Shinji could feel his hand wrapped around a fleshy formation on her chest.

'_Wow, they feel bigger than they look...WAIT!!!_' Shinji thought with horror before he scrambled away. His eyes were firmly shut. "WAGH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Shinji," Rei spoke as she stood up. "Why do refuse to look at me?"

"Because you're naked!" Shinji cried out. "It isn't right for a boy to see a girl naked like this!"

"Why?" Rei asked as she kneeled down in front of her friend. She didn't even notice that she lost her towel in the collapse.

"Because…there are parts of a girl's body that are special," Shinji muttered, recalling when he got the 'talk' from Ran, Michelle, and Miki. "A boy shouldn't see them unless it's special. A girl is the one who decides who sees those parts."

"What parts?" asked Rei. This was sounding odd.

"Like your b-breasts a-and between your l-legs," Shinji sputtered. "I shouldn't see those parts of you unless you want me to. Unless it's a special time and with their permission."

"I see," Rei pondered. If she interpreted Shinji properly, he said that her intimate portions of her body were hers alone to show should she decide to. Shinji believed that he had no right to see her without her clothes on. If Shinji would not look at her, they would not be able to have a conversation. In her mind, there was only one thing to do.

"You have my permission," she spoke up.

"Huh?" Shinji gasped, his eyes opening before they clamped shut again.

"You have my permission to see me naked," Rei replied. "Will you please open your eyes now? I wish to have a proper conversation."

'_Oh…man!_' If Elehung ever got that kind of invite his nose would be spewing blood like a fire hose because he got so turned on by the idea. Rei was giving him her permission to see her naked. It was an obvious invitation! While the idea of staring at her was, well, tempting, it just didn't feel right for him to take advantage of her simple thought processes. "Rei…can you please put some clothes on?"

"Is my naked body unappealing?" she questioned, sounding disappointed.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, "It's just…well…you shouldn't let anybody stare at you naked!"

"But you're not anybody," she stated, "You're my friend."

Now Shinji was starting to feel guilty about this. As much as he wanted to stare at Rei's naked body for hours and hours, he didn't want to come off as a mega-perv like a certain someone he knew. There were limits to close friendships and he was walking on thin ice.

"I just…don't want you to think that I'm some kind of…pervert," Shinji mumbled, feeling like his ears were burning.

"I know you are not a pervert," Rei replied. "Please open your eyes."

There was no avoiding it at this point. Shinji knew that if he didn't want Rei to be unhappy with him, he would have to open his eyes. Well, one could consider this the acid test to their friendship. Steeling himself, Shinji opened his eyes. Blinking a moment, he noticed that Rei was kneeling so all he could see were her breasts and her…

'_Wow, blue is her natural colour!_' Shinji blinked before his eyes snapped back to her face. He just wanted to remain fixated on her face, which was thankfully very easy on the eyes.

"Why did you come back?" Rei asked simply.

"Well, uh, your old ID card expired," Shinji explained as he retrieved the card. "Dr. Akagi was having dinner with Misato and I offered to give this to you."

"I see," Rei nodded as she took the card. She then stood up and turned to place it near her bed, giving Shinji a fine view of her shapely derriere. "Thank you."

"Yeah," Shinji nodded as he stood up, still not wanting to stare too much at Rei's body."Say, if you want, you can, y'know, join us for dinner," said Shinji.

Rei pondered that. It would allow her to spend more time with Shinji. As far as she knew, that was always a most pleasant experience. Still, Dr. Akagi would be there and their relationship was strained at best. Still, she was sure they could remain civil. It would be worth it.

"I would like that," Rei nodded. "Please allow me to get dressed."

Shinji nodded as Rei pulled out one of her school uniforms. He was then treated to the show of her getting dressed. He was hard pressed to keep his indications that he enjoyed the show out of sight. He didn't want Rei to think he was a pervert, but somehow he doubted she knew what one was.

"Shall we go?" Rei asked as she finished dressing.

"Sure," Shinji nodded.

* * *

Rei and Shinji arrived at the Katsuragi apartment just in time for dinner, which mainly composed of instant noodles on plates. Dr. Akagi cast a look at Rei, slightly confused at her appearance.

"Oh! Hey Rei!" Misato greeted. "We weren't expecting to see you here!"

"Shinji invited me," Rei answered. "I hope I am not intruding."

"Nah!" Misato laughed. "The more the merrier! Take a seat!"

Ritsuko was now confused. Rei didn't call anyone by their first names and she certainly didn't accept invitations from anyone except her and the commander. Even those were for appointments in NERV. Gendo had been suspicious that Shinji was beginning to influence Rei, but it seemed that he was further along than expected. Part of her was tempted to tell Gendo, but that would just cause problems for everyone.

In the end Ritsuko decided that she would let Shinji go on his merry way. Besides, it would be a form of revenge on Gendo after all his neglect of her.


	5. Kicking Gendo's Ass is Fun

The next day, Shinji was accompanying Rei down to the testing area where the reactivation test for Unit-00 was being performed. He'd heard about the time when the prototype Eva went berserk and Rei got injured from Rei and he was worried for her.

"Rei, are you sure you are up to this?" Shinji asked his friend.

"I am sure," said Rei.

"Aren't you worried?" Shinji asked. "I mean...you got hurt the last time."

"No, I am not worried," said Rei.

"Well, then can I be worried for you?" Shinji requested. Rei stared at him oddly at the request.

"You do not have confidence in the commander's work?" Rei asked.

"After what he did to me I've lost all faith in him," said Shinji with a frown. Rei learnt that the commander was a sore subject to talk about with Shinji so she tried to avoid mentioning him as much as possible. She didn't want to cause any unpleasantness for Shinji who brought about pleasant feelings in her.

"I am sorry I mentioned him," apologized Rei. The smile returned to Shinji's face.

"That's okay. Hey, maybe after we're done here I can take you out for ice cream," said Shinji with a grin. "My treat!"

"What is ice cream?" she questioned and Shinji nearly fell over. "Shinji?"

"OK, girl, you seriously need to try ice cream!" said Shinji.

* * *

Shinji watched as Rei entered the entry plug and he clenched his fists in apprehension. He didn't want her to get hurt because of his father's foolishness. Shinji glanced at his father and narrowed his eyes hatefully. He would like so much to beat Gendo up. Rei was still living in that poor excuse of an apartment and all because it was the commander's orders.

After this test was done he was going to have a word with Gendo.

"Pulse and harmonics are normal!" said Maya over the console.

"No problems detected!" Added Makoto.

Ritsuko, Gendo and the bridge crew were monitoring the re-activation test from the test control room. Misato was looking at it from one of the observation rooms along with Shinji.

"In Synch. All links completed!" Ritsuko said.

"Check list is satisfactory up to 2590," reported Maya, "Approaching the critical mark. 2.5 more."

Everybody tensed up a little during the countdown until finally the unit was active and fully in synch with Rei.

"Thank god," Misato sighed. "The last thing we need is for Unit-00 to go crazy and hurt Rei again."

"Yes, I agree," said Shinji. As Rei was let out of the entry plug, Gendo made a move to approach her. '_Oh…no you're not!_' Shinji moved fast and was able to beat Gendo to Rei. The older Ikari scowled as his young son was once again interfering with him.

"Congratulations, Rei," said Shinji with a smile, "You did it!"

Rei gazed up at Shinji and gave a small smile that surprised everyone that could see. She never smiled for anyone, except for the commander, and that was a long time ago. She enjoyed Shinji's praises and said, "Thank you, Shinji."

"Get out of my way, boy," said Gendo gruffly and Shinji turned.

"Did you say something, Pop?" said Shinji without a hint of respect in his voice.

"Third Child, I order you to cease your interaction with the First," said Gendo.

"Oh, really?" Shinji smirked challengingly, "And why should I?"

"I will have you punished for insubordination," Gendo punished.

Shinji rolled his eyes, "For what? For being friends with Rei?"

"Friends are irrelevant," Gendo said firmly.

"Says you," Shinji glared, "But it's her choice too, isn't it?" Shinji asked, "Rei, do you want me to stop being friends with you?"

Rei looked between the smiling Shinji and the frowning commander. She was feeling a little torn at the moment. Shinji was the one who brought about so many pleasant and enjoyable feelings since he arrived. She wished to remain his friend, whereas the commander had been her guardian for as long as she could remember. Still, she recalled Shinji telling her about what he knew about his father. He was negligent of his duties, he failed in his role, and often didn't bat an eye to it.

"I see nothing detrimental in continuing a friendship," Rei answered.

Gendo kept his reserves, but it didn't hide the fury in his eyes. At first he thought that Rei was turning against him, but he let his logic take hold. Obviously Rei didn't see any harm in it because it didn't bring any harm to her or the scenario.

"Nevertheless, you contact will be limited lest your ability to pilot be affected," Gendo replied.

"I challenge that order," Shinji spoke suddenly.

Activity ground to a halt. All eyes were on a staring match between the commander and his son. Rei was feeling slight concern for Shinji since people who were insubordinate didn't last long under him.

"You have no grounds," Gendo retorted.

"I'm a pilot if you recall," Shinji smirked. "Only certain people can pilot an Eva. The way I see it, I have a lot of pull in this organization. Without pilots your fancy machines will be just collecting dust."

"We can get more," Gendo snorted.

"Before the next Angel attack? Are you so sure? I doubt that." Shinji snickered. "You may have one pilot with Rei, but Unit-00 has proved to be erratic in the past and Unit-01 has only ever reacted to me. Can you take the gamble?"

Gendo frowned at the logic. Unit-00 had been proven to be erratic and the alterations they made to it were only just tested. Unit-01 hadn't reacted to anyone but Shinji, considering the soul of the Eva. Although the MAGI considered the odds of Rei activating it to be good, Gendo didn't want to press his luck. Not when his scenario had only just begun and so many chaotic factors were involved.

"OK, let's have a bet," challenged Shinji.

"A bet?" Gendo quirked an eyebrow. "Whatever for?"

"Just a tiny wager, Pops. What's the matter, scared?" Shinji taunted.

Gendo's teeth were gritted under his teeth as he growled out, "What kind of wager?"

"OK, I want Rei to leave that dingy apartment she lives in and move in with me and Misato," stated Shinji.

"Denied," said Gendo.

"Well, then I challenge you to a match, one on one, you against me," said Shinji, earning gasps from everyone.

"You against me? In a hand-to-hand fight?" Gendo scoffed. Gendo had military training and was no doubt more experienced than Shinji.

"Yup, you and me, in the ring. Let's have our fists do the talking for us. If I win, you let Rei move out of her apartment and move in with me and if you win…" Shinji hesitated and spat out, "I'll stay away from Rei."

Gendo thought over those terms. They were pretty tempting. "May I add to that wager?"

"Fine."

"You will follow all my orders without question."

"OK, then, so let's do this," said Shinji.

"Now?" Gendo questioned.

"No reason to waste any time. Let's go to the training room, the sparring mats," stated Shinji. "What's the matter, old man? Hard of hearing?"

Gendo's eyes narrowed furiously. Well, soon he would put Shinji in his place.

* * *

News got around pretty fast and nearly all NERV personnel had gone to the training room to watch as the two Ikaris fought. This was just something you didn't see everyday.

Shinji was at one end of the mat, pulling on a pair of cut-off gloves as his father removed his own jacket.

"Shinji, please, do not do this," said Rei worriedly. Shinji flashed her a calm smile.

"Relax, Rei," Shinji said. "I'm not going to lose."

"But Commander Ikari has had years of training and experience," Rei warned.

"Funny, so have I," Shinji replied. Impulsively, Shinji leaned in and gave Rei a peck on the cheek. "I'm gonna win, Rei, don't worry."

Shinji and Gendo squared off against each other in the ring. Shinji had removed his jacket while Gendo removed his coat and glasses. Both were in ready stances. Gendo was in one of the classic military stances while Shinji had his legs apart with one arms hanging down and the other one held back.

"Ready, old man?" Shinji smirked.

"Yes," Gendo nodded.

That was all Shinji needed. He lunged forward and used a powerful forward strike aimed at Gendo's torso. The elder Ikari used a standard misdirection, using Shinji's own force against him. However, the movement was halted when Shinji's foot hit the ground and he twirled around, Even Gendo didn't have enough time to move before Shinji plowed his fist into the man's side.

Grunting, Gendo got some distance. The boy was quicker than he expected. Still, this was his chance to get the boy under control and he couldn't afford to mess it up.

Gendo went on the offensive, using powerful punches and kicks aimed to put the boy down quickly. To his aggravation however, Shinji was swinging his arms, letting them take the impact. No doubt they hurt, or had gone numb, but he wasn't showing it. The boy had a good poker face.

Shinji moved forward again, swinging widely again. Gendo wasn't dumb enough to believe that he was being sloppy. Obviously his style was the balance and use of force. If he wanted to put the boy down, he would have to do it now. Lunging forward he captured Shinji in a hold before positioning himself for the Sleeper Hold. Shinji grunted in protest, but the man was stronger than he expected.

Gendo knew he had the boy. He just needed to savor the victory.

"Not bad old man," Shinji grunted. "But I've got you beat."

Shinji then stomped on Gendo's foot, bringing a cry of pain so that his hold would loosen. Using it, Shinji bowed his head before slamming it into Gendo's face. Despite how he stripped himself of most emotion, Gendo couldn't rid himself of pain and thus, his reaction to it. Gendo stumbled backwards while holding his bleeding mouth. Looking up, he was met with Shinji's fist to the side of his head. Gendo saw stars as he dropped to his knees. Shaking his head, he saw Shinji in front of him with his fist raised at him.

"Do you yield?" Shinji asked.

Gendo growled, "I yield."

Everyone gawked as Shinji, a 14 year old, defeated the commander at hand to hand and he hadn't even used any of the fancy tricks he'd used against the Angels. Shinji popped his neck to the side and walked over to Rei as Fuyutsuki went over to help Gendo up, only to be shrugged off.

"I won, Rei," said Shinji with a smile.

"Are you hurt, Shinji?" Rei asked.

"Nah, I've taken way worse," said Shinji with a grin.

"Shinji…" Rei began, "What did you do to my cheek with your lips?"

Shinji blinked and explained, "It's called a kiss, Rei. I guess I was trying to get some good luck from you and it worked."

"A kiss…"

The Angel alarms suddenly blared and Shinji said, "Looks like it's time to get to work!" He picked up his jacket and slung it on. "Let's go, partner!"

* * *

"Okay, Shinji," Misato spoke through the comm. "We're sending you up first since you have the most battle experience. Got it?"

"Suits me just fine," Shinji nodded. Despite knowing Rei was a capable pilot, he still didn't want to see her hurt. Not after the state he saw her in when he first met her.

Unit 01 was moved to one of the catapults. It was locked in place and everything was given the green light. Misato then barked out the order, "Eva launch!"

The catapult roared to life and Unit-01 was shot up the chute. Above it, steel doors opened to allow it to appear in Tokyo-3. The entire platform came to a stop with Eva-01 pointing in the direction of the approaching Angel.

As expected, this one looked different from the previous two. In this case, it came in the appearance of an octahedron. It was blue and appeared to be hollow. Shinji didn't dare try to guess what this Angel was capable of.

This was Ramiel, the 5th Angel

"Here we go again," Shinji frowned as he prepared to face the newest Angel. "Are you sure it's supposed to be an Angel."

"_Yes, the MAGI confirmed it_," replied Ritsuko.

"Looks like a floating Rubic's Cube to me," snorted Shinji.

"_Don't get overconfident, Shinji_," advised Misato.

"I won't, Misato," said Shinji. "Is Rei there? I want to give her a message."

"_What kind of message?_"

"After I blow this thing up we can go out for ice cream!" Shinji said cheerily. He then charged for the Angel.


	6. Hugs and Kisses

Shinji opened his eyes, groaning, as he looked up at the ceiling. "Where…am I?"

"Shinji, are you alright?" he heard and turned his head to see Rei sitting at his bedside.

"I've had better days, I think," he replied. "What happened? Did I win?"

"No," Rei stated bluntly.

"I thought so. So, what happened?" Shinji asked.

"When you were approaching, the Angel fired a high powered beam at the Eva that knocked you out."

Damn. He'd gotten too cocky and paid for it. "So, what's happening now?"

"The Angel is attempting to drill its way through," Rei said. Alarmed, Shinji sat up.

"WHAT!?" He winched. "Ow…"

"Shinji, you must rest," said Rei, concerned. "Your injuries haven't healed yet."

"I can't lie down and do nothing, Rei," said Shinji. "I just…can't."

Rei decided to ask, "Why do you pilot the Eva?"

Shinji blinked. That came out of the blue. He answered, "Well, at first, I didn't want to…but then I remembered something my teachers told me. So, to be honest, I guess I pilot the Eva to protect the innocent lives in this city."

"Protect innocent lives?" Rei questioned.

"It's one of the codes of GekiJyuKen. It's a fighting style to defend, protect, and fight for justice," he answered.

Rei noted how odd that sounded but it sounded noble as well.

"OK, Rei, now it's your turn," began Shinji. "Why do you pilot the Eva?"

"It's a bond," she answered.

"To the Eva?" he questioned.

"To all people," she added.

"Then you're really strong."

"I…have nothing else," answered Rei.

Shinji frowned and said, "Now, hold on, don't say that. You do have more than that."

"Like what?"

"You got me," he said as he placed his hand on hers. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back. She stood up. "Rei, where are you going?"

"You must be hungry," said Rei. "I am going to fetch your food."

"Have you eaten?" Shinji asked.

"No, I haven't."

"Then bring some food for yourself too. I wanna have dinner with my friend."

Rei nodded and then walked out of the room, leaving Shinji to stare up at the ceiling.

"So, now what am I supposed to do?"

* * *

"You want to do what?" Fuyutsuki asked, standing behind Gendo.

"I want to try a sniper tactic, sir," Misato said, standing meters away from the desk.

"Explain," Gendo said.

"I believe using a high-powered energy rifle to strike the target, from outside its firing range, will have a greater affect on the target than a direct assault," Misato explained.

"But you're probability of success is only 12 percent," the older man stated.

"It's the highest number we could get," she said, defending her position. "The MAGI confirm it."

"I see. Very well, I see no reason to reject your proposal. You have a go, captain," Gendo ordered.

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

"You realize this plan is crazy," Ritsuko said as the pair descended one of the many escalators within the massive complex. "Don't you, _Captain_ Katsuragi?"

"Don't be rude, Ritz. It has the highest chance of success and can be completed within nine hours. Besides, it's the best shot we have."

"A long shot at best," Ritsuko commented. "But our positron cannon can't sustain the necessary energy needed to penetrate the Angel's AT-Field. Not even for one shot."

"Then if ours won't work, we'll borrow one."

"Borrow? From whom?" her eyes suddenly widened. "You don't mean..."

"The JSSDF's new prototype."

* * *

(NERV Headquarters...)

"Ritsuko? It's Misato. How's the shield coming?" Misato called through the comm. to her friend.

Ritsuko was in the EVA cages with Maya.

"It's the best we could do on such short notice." the blond scientist said into her hands-free mic.

"Is that it?" Maya asked as she looked at the rather familiar shaped defense tool. Sort of like an odd-shaped four-pointed star or a strange looking 'T'.

"Yes. It was sort of part of the space shuttle. It may look ugly, but it's got an electromagnetic coating that Section 9 guarantees will withstand the Angel's energy blast for 17 seconds. Not bad all things considered."

"Good work, Ritz," Misato said as she entered the secondary war room. "In the meantime, we'll use Shinji in Unit 01 to handle the difficult part of this operation." She turned off the comm. to Ritsuko and turned back to Hyuga, who was working at the terminal. "What about the sniping position?" she asked.

"Based on proximity, topography, direct line of sight to target, and accessibility to power cables, this is our best bet," the computer tech exclaimed.

Misato looked over his shoulder to the visual on the computer screen. "Mt. Futago, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Right. From here on in, this operation is going to be called, Operation: Yoshima!"

* * *

It was 6:30 in the waning evening as both Shinji and Rei left NERV and headed to Mt Futago.

When the time came, virtually all of Japan went into blackout mode to provide the Eva's a way to stop this new Angel.

While this was going on, Shinji and Rei were dressed in their plug suits and waiting for the order to begin the operation.

"Rei, are you sure you're ready?" asked Shinji.

"Yes, Shinji, I am," said Rei. She then impulsively gave him a kiss on the cheek that made him blush.

"Rei?" he questioned, touching the spot she'd kissed.

"Remember, you said it was for good luck," she spoke.

"Oh."

"It's time. Let us go." She murmured, "Goodbye…"

"Rei..."

* * *

"Shinji, we're entrusting you with the energy of the entire nation of Japan!" said Misato through the intercom "We're counting on you!"

'_Sure, put all the pressure on my shoulders_,' Shinji thought. "OK"

"Initiate primary connections!"

Turbines roared, little parts of the forest burned around the over heated connection cables, Unit-01 lay flat on its stomach, waiting for the right time to shoot.

"Error correction for Earth rotation and gravity is 0.0009."

Shinji waited, anxious for the aiming computer to lock on the target.

"Transmitting all energy to the positron rifle."

The countdown started, the tension grew between the staff.

"High energy output detected inside target!" informed an alarmed Maya.

"It can't be!" Misato shouted.

"…three…two…one…" Ritsuko counted.

"Fire!" ordered Misato; both titans fired their weapon at the same time, the beams twisted and turned around each other, the little temporary base rocked violently at the explosion shock wave. "Shinji! What happened? Did you miss?"

"I don't under..." he started to respond but then he yelled out in realization, "The energy beams repelled each other! We both missed!"

"Get a second shot ready! Hurry!" Misato shouted.

"The electromagnetic field of the angel's weapon is interfering with the computer!" informed Shigeru, "We'll need one minute to fix it!"

"The target is ready to shoot again!" Maya shouted.

"No! Not now!" Misato cried.

"Come on!" Shinji said when he saw the Angel shining brightly. He suddenly saw Unit 00 step in front of him and plant the shield in the ground as the beam hit. "REI!" Shinji shouted.

"That shield won't last long!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Are we ready yet?" Misato shouted.

"FORTY SECONDS!" Hyuga shouted.

"Misato! I need to fire!" Shinji shouted.

"No!" Misato shouted. "We can't risk missing again!"

Shinji glanced at the orange Eva, both the shield and its armor were melting under the enormous pressure and heat of the Angel's attack. "Rei's not going to last much longer!"

"Just thirty more seconds!" Hyuga shouted.

"I'm shooting!" Shinji shouted. He didn't care if it needed to charge up for thirty more seconds. Rei's life was in danger.

"The gun needs 20 more seconds to charge!" Misato shouted.

"We don't have 20 seconds!" he shot back. "Come on...Come on..." He then called on his Geki and used that energy, feeding it into the gun through his connection with the Evangelion.

Back at NERV, the readings were being detected.

"What are these readings?" Ritsuko asked. "The energy...it's coming from the pilot! Is this because of that GekiJyuKen he uses too?"

"Shinji!" Misato cried out. "What are you doing!?"

"Just trust me!" Shinji responded as he pulled the trigger on the gun.

Shinji's synch ratio rose quickly as Unit 01 jerked at the rifle's kickback, the beam flying straight the instant the Angel's energy beam dissipated, blowing a hole straight through it.

Shinji however, didn't wait for confirmation, didn't hear the cries of celebration, as he raced to Rei's Eva and pulled the entry plug from it. He set it down gently and ejected himself from the purple unit.

'_What…idiot…designed…these…things?'_ Shinji groaned, pulling on the handles of the superheated entry plug. Finally, after burning his own hands, "REI! Are you alright?"

The girl slowly opened her eyes and stared into his tear-stained face.

"You're alive! Thank god you're alive!" he cried. "And don't say it, don't you ever say you have nothing, and don't say goodbye like that again, it's just too sad!"

Rei looked at the boy before her. Her friend and fellow pilot who cared for her and now shed tears because she was alive. "I'm sorry…" she replied after a short pause. "…I don't know what I should do or feel at times like this."

"Why don't you try smiling?" he suggested with a small smile.

A sudden rush of warmth filled her, the familiar feeling she had when she was in Shinji's presence came to her, and in a similar fashion to the boy, Rei smiled.

'_Such a pretty smile_,' Shinji thought before he gently helped Rei out of the entry plug. He then hugged her tight and she returned the embrace as well.

"Shinji?" she began.

"Yes, Rei?"

"Can we go for that ice cream you offered?" He let out a laugh.

"Sure, Rei. We can. You deserve it."


	7. Jet Alone

After giving Rei a few days to recover from the experience with the 5th Angel, she and Shinji were at the local ice cream parlor. Rei had never had ice cream before, much less heard of it. So Shinji had to explain what it was before she attempted to decide what flavor to try. Eventually she decided to try vanilla ice cream as a start before she would try some of the more distinct flavors. Shinji just had some chocolate ice cream as he watched Rei cautiously eat the frozen treat it.

"It is…good," Rei finally spoke as she finished her small bowl. "I would like more."

"Well, not like we don't have the money for it," Shinji grinned. "Do you want to try a new flavor or would you want more vanilla."

"Vanilla please," Rei replied. She was still unsure how to order from this store she'd never been to before.

Shinji nodded and got a new bowl of ice cream for Rei before getting a refill of his own. He then returned to Rei and gave the bowl to her.

"Thank you," Rei nodded as she accepted the bowl.

"You're very welcome," Shinji smiled. "So, do you think what Misato said is true? NERV Germany is sending Unit-02 and its pilot?"

"From what I understand," Rei nodded. "Since it is confirmed that the Angels are heading to Japan, the other branches of NERV are sending completed Eva units to Tokyo-3. Units 03 and 04 are still being constructed in America."

"I see," Shinji nodded. "Well, I'm glad we won't be the only pilots anymore."

"Perhaps," Shinji nodded.

The pair fell into a comfortable, even enjoyable, silence. Rei always enjoyed being in Shinji's company much like how the boy enjoyed being in her company. It was even more enjoyable since she moved into Misato's apartment. The commander had no choice but to keep his word since so many people saw his bout with Shinji and it was even recorded on the security tapes.

Rei also discovered that it was possible to hug sitting down. She saw Shinji watching television after training and she decided she wished for the intimacy of another hug. So, she positioned herself properly and wrapped her arms around Shinji, resting in his warmth again. Shinji was stunned the first time, but quickly recovered and returned the gesture. Of course, Misato caught them both and took a picture of the two for posterity.

There was one incident where Rei walked in on Shinji while he was taking a bath. Her reasoning was that since she gave Shinji permission to see her naked, she had nothing to fear in bathing in front of him. Of course, she didn't look at Shinji since he did not give her permission to see him naked and she respected his decision. She could wait for the hot water until he was finished. Of course Shinji ran out of the room quickly, leaving Rei to enjoy the water Shinji was just in. Still, Rei pondered that when she received permission to see Shinji in the nude, they could share a bath together to save time on bathing.

* * *

Rei often saw Shinji wake up early in the morning and exit the apartment. She paid no mind at first but when she realized how frequently he did it, she went and followed him. She was silent and was able to follow him up to the apartment's rooftop and watched, hidden, as he did what he did every early morning.

Shinji was dressed in a purple Chinese shirt with black gloves, black pants and black Chinese slippers. She watched as he went into a stance before he began to…perform.

Perform…that was the closest thing Rei could surmise as to what Shinji was doing. He was performing.

Rei watched as Shinji went into a flurry of moves. He was practicing his fighting style. It was this GekiJyuKen he often spoke about. Rei simply couldn't tear her eyes away as Shinji moved his arms and legs in such a way, displaying speed, strength and flexibility. It was truly remarkable.

She also watched as Shinji seemingly conjured weapons out of thin air. The first set of weapons was a pair of fans, which he then switched for a pair of sabers and finally a weapon that was known as a meteor hammer. Like his unarmed style, these styles looked beautiful as they were deadly, but she knew Shinji would never harm others without reason.

Shinji stopped and then turned to smile at Rei, saying, "Did you enjoy the show?"

"It was…interesting," Rei answered. "I did not know you were proficient in several weapons."

"I took a lot of training," Shinji answered. "I had to master four different JyuKen to be able to use them."

"Four? What four?" Rei asked with curiosity.

"Well, the weaponless style is called Wolf-Ken," Shinji explained. "It's a forward combat style. I learned it first. The fans are a part of Bat-Ken, which is more for redirection of force rather than attacking. The swords are part of Shark-Ken, which allows me to transfer my strength in different ways rather than as a forward attack. Finally the hammer comes with Elephant-Ken, which is what I used on Pop. It's got a higher attacking power."

"Are they all based off animals?" asked Rei.

"Yep," Shinji nodded. "All of my teachers specialize in a specific beast fist. Felis-Ken, Tiger-Ken, Cheetah-Ken, Jaguar-Ken, Lynx-Ken, Gorilla-Ken, Rhinoceros-Ken, Gazelle-Ken, and Penguin-Ken. That's only the tip of the iceberg though. There are as many beast fists as there are animals in the world."

"Interesting," Rei pondered. "Would you be interested in teaching this to others?"

"Like whom?" he asked.

"Like…myself?"

"Would you be interested in learning?" Shinji asked right back.

"I am," Rei nodded. "I wish to…become better…to connect, with others. I wish to connect more to you…and those of your family. I feel that learning will help me do that."

Shinji inwardly chuckled. It was almost like the girlfriend who wanted to meet her boyfriend's family. Rei seemed to want to connect with people like Shinji who gave her such positive experiences. Well, who was Shinji to deny her that?

"Okay," Shinji nodded. "Now, to begin, I'll walk you through some basic katas. We'll build up from there."

"Very well," Rei nodded. "Thank you, Shinji."

* * *

Shinji and Rei walked into the apartment after their first practice. Rei was mechanical in her movements, but she was silent and picked up on things quickly. She would be a good student.

As the pair settled down for breakfast, Misato walked out of her room in full uniform, "Oh, good to see you two up."

"This is a little odd for you Misato," Shinji blinked. "Usually you're in your sleepwear and guzzling beer like there's no tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, I have a presentation to get to in Old Tokyo," Misato sighed as she got herself a quick bite to eat. "It's some kind of machine that the JSSDF are positive will replace Evas against the Angels. I'll be back later tonight. Save some dinner for me."

"Will do," Shinji nodded. Before he could blink though, Misato was out the door. Shrugging it off, he turned back to Rei, "Well, let's finish up. Dr. Akagi said she wanted us on standby today while she and Misato are gone. Probably jumpy with their brains gone from NERV."

"Perhaps," Rei nodded, but she knew better. The Jet Alone was what the JSSDF were planning to show and Commander Ikari wouldn't stand for anything to rival Evas. He probably planned to sabotage it somehow.

* * *

"Good afternoon and welcome to the celebration of completion of the JA project!" greeted the Jet Alone project director, "We'll now be taking any questions."

"I have some questions," a blond-haired woman said.

"Ah yes, the famous Doctor Ritsuko Akagi." the director acknowledged, "It's an honor to have your presence here today! What do you wish to know?"

"According to our earlier briefing, this unit is equipped with an internal nuclear reactor, is this correct?" Ritsuko asked.

"Of course. It's one of the projects most distinguished features!" he affirmed, "A guaranteed one hundred and fifty days of operations."

"But isn't it risky to put a nuclear reactor in a land based weapon, designed for hand-to-hand combat?" she asked again.

"It's more practical than one that works for only five minutes."

"But in an emergency there could be a problem with the remote control." she said.

"But it's better than to cause a tremendous mental stress in a person."

"Cut it out Ritz…" muttered a rather bored Misato, "This only makes you look childish."

However, Ritsuko ignored her friend. "And there's also the matter of the manual operation."

"A machine that cannot be controlled is absurd… " The director retorted calmly "The JA project is more reliable than a weapon that can lose control at any moment and go berserk, and its obviously mentally unstable pilot, who by the way, is only a child." He said holding up a document with the pictures of Unit-01 and Shinji during the Third Angel's attack. "It's surprising that the UN allows NERV to use a minor for such a dangerous activity, and not to mention the immense amounts of money you're receiving, causing whole countries to starve."

"However, NERV is the only one with a weapon that can defeat the enemy," Ritsuko pointed out.

"That is precisely why the JA Project exists," the director said. "NERV's day in the sun is over."

Misato frowned at the man's arrogance and condescending attitude. Shinji had proved himself as a valuable and worthy pilot and was not to be talked down upon.

"Do we have any other questions?" the director asked the assembled group.

* * *

Shinji and Rei sat on the couch just watching television. But while Shinji was watching television, Rei was reading a book. However, she was wearing a tank top and shorts while she read, which made her seem comfortable to the young man. They'd done little other than watch television. Shinji had played his harmonica a while ago. It seemed to calm his nerves a bit because he had this bad feeling looming over his head, and Rei was disappointed when he stopped to watch television.

"So, what are you reading, Rei?" Shinji finally asked.

She paused and showed him the cover.

"The History of Rome?" he read the title.

"I find it enjoyable."

"Really? I never thought..." he said, but was suddenly cut off as the phone rang. He stood up and walked over to it, picking it up and putting the receiver to his mouth. "Katsuragi residence."

"_Shinji! It's Misato! Get Rei and report to NERV ASAP!_"

"What's wrong? Is there an Angel attack?" the boy gasped.

That caused Rei to jump from the couch and slide up next to him.

"_Not an Angel. An out of control trash can!_"

"Huh?"


	8. Calling on the Beast Inside

"So these guys can't even build a remote control and their little machine goes nuts?" Shinji asked incredulously. "The thing is a walking nuclear bomb and they intended for it to fight Angels? Were they so desperate to show up NERV they just threw together the first thing that looked like it had a chance?"

"Don't ask me," Misato shrugged as she got he mission parameters confirmed. "They seemed to think you were incapable of fighting since you were a kid. Anyway, the Jet Alone is heading towards a populated city and by the rate that the heat is going up, the thing will explode when it gets there."

"All the more reason to stop it," Shinji nodded. "So can I smash it?"

"No!" Misato cried. "That will just make it explode quicker! My plan is to manually shut it down. What I need you to do is carry me close enough in your Eva so I can get inside the thing."

"You're crazy!" Shinji cried. Of course, that's when he began to grin. "I knew there was something about you I liked."

"I'm just that likable," Misato smirked. She turned as she saw one of the technicians walking up to her. "About time! Now what's the password for the thing's systems?"

"Um…it's 'hope'," the technician answered. "Sorry."

"Okay," Misato nodded before she turned to Shinji. "You better get in your Eva and I'll get a radiation suit on. Then we'll get moving."

"Roger!" said Shinji, giving a mock salute before grinning. He then spoke, a serious tone in his voice, "Hey, Misato?"

"Yes, Shinji?"

"Be careful."

Misato smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will."

* * *

The Eva was being carried via a transport carrying which hovered above the site. The Eva-01 was then released and the mecha went free-falling several hundred feet before landing hard upon its feet. In its hands was Misato who looked determined to do this.

'_I sure hope you know what you're doing, Misato_,' thought Shinji as he had the Eva place Misato upon the giant's right shoulder.

"Alright, Shinji, here it comes," said Misato.

However, the Jet Alone's on-board defensive systems came online and instantly recognized the Eva in front of it as a threat. Its arms were now raised in an aggressive gesture.

"Oh, great! It's gone into attack mode!" Misato realized.

Shinji shouted, "Misato! Brace yourself!"

"Oh, come on!" the woman cried out as she held on for dear life as the rampaging robot came charging at them.

"Hang on!" Shinji cried out as he lunged his Eva forward, their hands grappling with each other in a deadly game of mercy. Unit-01 started to strain, but its robotic adversary was stopped in its run to the city. "YOU'RE NOT GOING WIN!" he shouted as he pushed on the robot. "Misato! Hurry!"

"OK!" Misato

Jet Alone reeled back as it lashed out with its right arm. Shinji quickly blocked the attack and found himself being pushed back.

"ARGH!" Shinji shouted as he felt the Jet Alone's assault through his connection with Eva.

"Misato! Now!" Shinji called as he reached up to grab Misato gently. He then reached over and placed Misato onto the rampaging robot as he kept his opponent steady. Misato found the access hatch and went inside.

"I'm in!" Misato shouted triumphantly.

The Jet Alone still went on the attack and Shinji needed more power but where was he gonna get it? He thought of it only for a moment before he got an idea.

"What do I have to lose?" Shinji sighed. "Gekiwaza!"

Outside, the Eva began to be enveloped with a green aura. People eyeing the battle began to gape, trying to figure out just what the heck Shinji was doing.

"Rai Rai Jyu!" Shinji called. "GekiElephant!"

The aura burst out before it started taking shape. To the shock and amazement of everyone, the aura took the form of a large green elephant with a black ball on the end of its trunk.

"Jyuken Busou (Beast-Fist Armament)!" Shinji called out.

The GekiElephant let out a loud trumpet before it broke into four pieces. The two body sections with the legs turned upside down and connected with the Eva's shoulders. The bottom part of GekiElephant's head attached to Eva 01's head, giving it a new appearance as its eyes flashed. The Eva released its free hand and grabbed the back of GekiElephant's head which was now the EleHammer.

"GekiEvaElephant-01!" Shinji announced. "Burning up!"

With the new power surging into the Eva's limbs, Eva-01 began to push the Jet Alone back with one hand. The Geki powering it in addition to its power source managed to give him the advantage against the postal machine.

"Wagh!" Misato cried as the machine she was inside began to shift. "Shinji! Keep the thing steady!"

"Trying to!" He pushed his Eva forward and shoved the Jet Alone backwards. "Misato brace yourself! I'm making sure this thing will never walk again!"

"Huh?!" Misato cried as she grabbed a protruding piece of steel.

"Gekiwaza!" Shinji called as he began charging Geki into the hammer. "Dai Gan Gan Gan!"

GekiEvaElephant-01 did a twist, swinging the hammer that was glowing a bright green. The hammer cut through the air before smashing through the Jet Alone's legs like they were toothpicks. The machine fell backwards and slammed onto its back, making a resounding crash.

"Ahhh!" Misato cried as she tumbled along the inner hallways of the machine. "Shinji!"

"Sorry, Misato!" Shinji apologized, "I had to! Now, shut this thing down!"

Misato replied, "OK!" and quickly got to work in deactivating the now leg-less JA robot as Shinji looked after the Jet Alone. She punched in the password into the internal control console. However, what she got was a big red 'DENIED'.

"Crap!" Misato hissed. "Shinji! The computer isn't accepting the password!"

"What?!" Shinji cried. That didn't make sense. Did the Jet Alone higher ups decide to change the password and the memo didn't get out or… "Damn! Someone sabotaged the damn thing!"

"That doesn't matter at this point," Misato frowned. "I have an idea thought. I'll try to insert the cooling rods manually!"

"Misato…" Shinji frowned. That plan sounded like suicide.

Misato found the core of Jet Alone and grabbed the first control rod. Using the muscles in her arms, she pressed against the control rod. The thing didn't budge. Climbing up on the wall, Misato pressed her feet against the control rod and pressed against the rod, to no effect.

"Dammit!" Misato cursed. "MOVE!!"

Still, Misato remembered something she talked about with Shinji.

* * *

"_Geki?" Misato asked in confusion._

"_My fierce Ki," Shinji explained. "You see, my Geki is the source of my JyuKen. It's MY fierce Ki. It is brought out by my desire for peace, justice, and the safety of those around me. As long as I hold my ideals close, I will never lose my strength."_

"_My ideals," Misato pondered._

* * *

'_I started this to get revenge on the Angels,_' Misato thought to herself, beginning to cry. '_But that changed. I want to stand beside Shinji! He and Rei fight to protect us, but I will protect them! Even the protectors need to be protected! I WILL PROTECT THEM!_'

"YEAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Misato screamed as she pushed against the rod with all her might. What she didn't notice was a crimson aura surrounding her as she pressed. The aura took the form of a snarling bear and it slammed at the rod as Misato kicked. To her surprise, the rod shot into the core like a bullet. Snarling, Misato moved onto the other three rods. One punch after another mixed with a bear swipe pushed the remaining three cores in.

Back at the command centre of the Jet Alone, the technicians found that the giant machine had shut down.

"Sir!" one of the scientists called out to his commander. "The control rods have been inserted! Jet Alone has shut down!"

"Thank God," the commander sighed.

Meanwhile, inside his Eva, Shinji's brows were furrowed. For a moment he'd sensed a spike of Fierce Ki, but where had it come from?

* * *

After all was said and done and the JA project was scrapped, our heroes returned home. To celebrate a job well done, Misato once again downed a can of her favorite Yebisu with Pen-Pen drinking as he sat down next to the woman. On the couch, Shinji kept stealing glances at Misato which she took notice of. She was in shorts and a tank top.

"Are you ogling me, Shinji?" Misato teased and instead of feeling flustered, Shinji responded calmly.

"Misato," began Shinji, "Did anything else happen when you were in the Jet Alone?"

"Not really," Misato said, thinking back. "I just had an adrenaline rush, I guess."

Shinji knew better. That was NO adrenaline rush. He'd senses the spike of Fierce Ki and right now it was lingering off Misato. It was her and he knew it, he just had to have her awaken it again to make sure.

Rei was sitting with Shinji and was leaning against him. She'd been worried for his safety and was relieved to find him returned, safe and sound. She responded in kind and had hugged him. She didn't want to lose the warm and pleasant feeling of having him close.

"So, anyway, we'll be going to see the Second Child," said Misato. This caught the two pilots' attention.

"Really?" Shinji wondered what they were like.

"Captain, do you know the second Child intimately?" Rei asked.

"Oh, we go way back! I knew her back when she was a little kid!" said Misato.

"Can I bring friends?" Shinji asked.


	9. Meeting the Fiery Maiden

"OH MY GOD THIS IS SO COOL!" Kensuke clamored as his video recorder was practically glued to his face. "It's so great to have a friend like you, Shinji!"

"Will ya quit shouting, ya blasted otaku!" Toji cried out next to him, trying to get him to stop hopping around the cabin.

Shinji sat on the right side of the chopper, next to a utility locker. Toji next to him, and Kensuke at the left.

Shinji had invited Toji and Kensuke along so he would have some friends to talk to and maybe help Rei interact with others. Rei was sitting on his lap. When asked, her only response was that it was comfortable.

"WOW!" exclaimed the otaku, angling his camera out the window.

"One...two...three...four...five aircraft carriers, four battleships, and six destroyers!"

"And there's our destination," Misato said, "The Pre-Impact super carrier 'Over the Rainbow'." She added, "A crusty old relic in my opinion."

Toji could only glare at the 'crusty old relic', as Misato called it, which was their destination, while Kensuke continued to film.

Shinji however wasn't paying attention as he had Rei sitting comfortably in his lap. She didn't mind, in fact she found it satisfying, as she was used to sitting next to the boy. She hugged him around his neck, rather tightly, as her chest was pressed against his.

"And what do we have here?" Kensuke asked as he aimed his camera at the couple.

"That camera shoved down your throat if you don't stop taping us, Mr. Aida." Shinji growled as he glared back. Kensuke shivered under Shinji's intense glare.

* * *

"Oh! Cool! Awesome! Incredible! Totally Fantastic!"

Shinji shook his head as he noticed Kensuke going full-tilt camera-shooting-everything that the old carrier had to offer. His only hope was that the boy would pass out from sheer excitement.

Kensuke practically jumped out of the helicopter before the chopper had even landed, but had been restrained by Toji. He saw Shinji gently help Rei out of the copter. While Shinji was dressed in his usual purple short sleeved jacket, black t-shirt and black pants, Rei was more simply attired in her blue summer dress over a white short-sleeved shirt. She wore a pair of black biker shorts underneath her skirt, which the wind picked up from time to time. It was a good thing Misato had warned them about how windy these things could get.

Toji's cap suddenly blew off his head, the jock immediately running after it in a panicked fashion.

Misato just shook her head at this. '_Guess he's never been on a ship before. Much less an aircraft carrier. This place is like a wind tunnel.'_

She then noticed that Toji's cap had stopped trying to get away from him, planted securely under the foot of a young attractive redhead.

"Hello, Misato. How have you been?" the girl asked.

"Fine, how about you?" asked Misato with a smile. "I see you've grown a bit."

"And I'm not just taller, you know. My figures filled out as well." the redhead said, thrusting out her chest to emphasis this fact.

Toji was trying to remove his precious hat from under the foot of the redheaded girl while Kensuke just filmed his friend's feeble attempts. Shinji, with Rei on his arm, were trying not to stare.

Misato introduced the redhead, "Everyone, allow me to introduce you to the designated pilot of Unit-02, the Second Child: Asuka Langley Sohryu."

At the same time this was said, the wind suddenly surged and blew her dress up, with Toji having a front row seat for the world's closest panty-shot.

A loud shriek was heard, followed by two slaps to the jock and the otaku. She then made a swing for Shinji who lightly shoved Rei back and then sidestepped the strike, causing Asuka to stumble.

"You missed," said Shinji with a grin.

"Hold still!" Asuka snapped, attempting another swing. Shinji easily dodged it like he did the one before. Getting steamed, she tried a straight forward punch. An attack that Shinji easily caught in his hand.

"You're not making a wonderful impression Ms. Sohryu," Shinji spoke in a deadpan tone of voice. "What did I do to deserve such hostility?"

"That was the viewing fee," Asuka hissed angrily.

"Oh, the panty shot," Shinji nodded. "Then you don't have to worry. I didn't look."

"Yeah right!" Asuka snorted as she was released. "Like any guy wouldn't love a chance to see a girl's panties!"

'_Not when you grew up seeing what happened to those that tried,_' Shinji thought when he recalled Elehung's punishments for being pervy. "Look, you can't prove I looked and I can't prove I didn't. Can we just compromise and start with a clean slate?"

"Fine!" Asuka sniffed. "But I've got my eye on you!" he then turned to face Misato again, who looked oddly tired about the situation. "So Misato, which one of these dorks is the amazing Third Child I've been hearing about?"

"You were just trying to hit him, Asuka," Misato snickered, loving the surprised look on her face.

"Shinji Ikari!" Shinji introduced himself, "Pilot of Unit-01 at your service!"

Misato added, "And the girl here is Rei Ayanami, the First Child."

"You're the First?" Asuka asked, eyeing Rei critically. "You kind of look like a doll to me, ha, ha, haaooooooOOOWWW!"

The reason for Asuka's cry of pain was Shinji coming up behind her. He had pinched her cheeks and was tugging them painfully. "Was it from this mouth that I heard someone say something mean about my friend?" Shinji questioned.

"OW OW OW OW! 'ou 'astard!" Asuka cussed, earning another sharp tug for her language. "OW! Fine! Sowwy! Sowwy!"

"Apology accepted," Rei nodded. Her words were all Shinji needed to let go of the half-German's face.

"You showed her, Shinji!" Toji laughed.

"That's our pal!" Kensuke nodded as he filmed the entire.

Misato softly giggled at the sight. It seemed that Asuka had finally met someone who wasn't going to take any crap from her. Back in NERV Germany, everyone pampered the pilot of Unit 02 and since her training sessions were so excellent, she was hailed as a prodigy of piloting Eva. Apparently that didn't mean anything to Shinji.

Asuka sent a heated glare at Shinji and warned, "Don't EVER do that again!"

"Give me a reason not to then I won't," Shinji retorted. Asuka huffed and stomped away as Rei approached Shinji. "Yes, Rei?"

"Thank you for defending me, Shinji," said Rei gratefully before kissing his cheek. He blushed a little in response. Rei was certainly learning how to show affection.

* * *

The meeting with the admiral had been less than smooth sailing. Apparently he was upset that they had bothered to come and oversee their transport of Unit 02, which they considered a toy. They resented the fact they needed a babysitter. The admiral was also less than impressed with the pilot of Unit 01, but kept his peace.

However, after that meeting, Shinji could feel Misato's anxiety rising as they were introduced to yet another interesting person.

Her ex-boyfriend, Ryoji Kaji. An American presumably, though you couldn't tell that from the name.

The seven people were crammed in the elevator that headed down to the commissary.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Misato shouted at Kaji.

"Accompanying Asuka. I am her guardian, after all," Kaji replied, smiling at once again being this close to Misato again.

Misato however, was grousing, "Talk about careless. I should have anticipated something like this."

"HEY, DON'T TOUCH ME!" Misato and Asuka suddenly shouted in unison.

"I CAN'T HELP IT!" Kaji and Toji exclaimed together.

* * *

(Ship's galley)

"So, Misato, do you have a boyfriend?" the unshaven man flirted with Misato.

"That's not really your business," she shot back.

"I'm hurt," he said, but laughed it off. Misato was sitting across from him, Shinji right next to her so that Asuka didn't take another shot at him. Rei was on his other side. Asuka was across from him, just staring at the young man who'd dodged her slaps and made a fool of her top deck. Toji and Kensuke were sitting near the end of the table. Kaji turned to face Shinji. "So, Shinji, I hear you're living with Katsuragi now."

"That's right," the young GekiJyuKen artist said, staring ahead as he put his tea back down.

"Tell me something, is she still so...wild in bed?" asked Kaji, innuendo clear in his voice.

You could feel the air get sucked out of the room after that little statement. Everyone froze up and looked stupefied. It was Misato who broke the silence.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" she shouted at him.

"No, she hasn't changed much, has she?" Kaji said calmly.

"I guess," Shinji said as he rubbed his ears. "But how did you know who I was?"

"Well, I ought to know you. You're pretty famous in the defense business. The famed Third Child who piloted an Eva in his first battle against an Angel with no prior training. Of course, what I am surprised about is what you can do with an Eva. How do you do it?"

"It's a secret," stated Shinji.

* * *

Later on, Kaji and Asuka were standing on the upper deck overlooking the ocean, just talking.

"So, what do you think of Shinji Ikari?" Kaji asked.

"I think he's a jerk!" Asuka snapped. "He made a fool of me on the deck!"

"Then you're not going to like his synch score," Kaji grimaced. "He got above 90 percent his first time in an Eva."

"Mein gott!" Asuka cried out in German.

* * *

"I shouldn't have let my guard down," Misato growled as she stomped through the hallways of the carrier. The four students were behind her, with Kensuke filming everything in sight.

"That must have been some breakup," Shinji commented. He had never seen Misato fume so much before.

"Indeed," Rei agreed. Although she wasn't well-versed in relationship terms to know exactly what it meant. She could guess though.

As the group was going through another hallway, Asuka came storming around the corner. She took one look at Shinji and grabbed his wrist, "You're coming with me Third!"

Shinji's kidnapping was halted when Rei grabbed his other hand, "Shinji is spending time with me. What do you need?"

"Oh relax, First," Asuka snickered. "I want to show him my Eva."

"Very well," Rei nodded. "I will accompany you both."

'_I think Rei is the jealous type,_' Shinji snickered to himself.

"Ugh, fine!" Asuka scoffed. "Let's go!"

* * *

Shinji's first response upon seeing Asuka's Unit-02 was simple. "It's red," he said, not having anything else to say. It didn't look any more impressive than his own Unit-01. It was just big, red and with four eyes. WHY four eyes?

"The color isn't the only thing that's different," boasted Asuka, "It's the world's first REAL Evangelion!"

'_And what about mine and Rei's? Chopped liver?_' thought Shinji.

"Why do you say yours is a REAL Evangelion?" questioned Rei curiously, wanting to know Asuka's reasoning.

Asuka continued, "Units 00 and 01 were created as part of the development process. The prototype and test type respectively. The fact that it synchronized with an untrained pilot like you, Third, is proof of that."

Shinji just glared at her, as if she needed a reality check.

Shinji rebutted, "Untrained, yet I'm 3-and-0 against them." He asked, "How many have you killed?"

Asuka growled. "You just got to them first, Third Child. Pure luck. But my Eva was created for actual combat conditions. It's the world's first _true_ Evangelion!"

Shinji and Rei just looked at each other before looking back at Asuka. A simultaneous action that made the girl flinch. She had hoped to make Shinji feel inadequate by showing him her Evangelion. She was still upset at how this boy had killed three Angels on his own.

"This is the final model!" she stated proudly.

"Then why was it not mobilized sooner to combat the Angels?" Rei asked. "If it is the better model would its activation not have been preferable over Units 00 and 01?"

"Because it's the final production model. You have to create a prototype to work all the bugs out so that perfection can be achieved. This... is the only Eva we're going to need against the Angels."

Shinji and Rei could have argued. Could have said that it wasn't a good idea to boast about a weapon that had never faced an Angel. But somehow, they figured she wouldn't listen.

"I don't think you should boast about fighting alone. If you do that then you'll end up alone," said Shinji.

Before Asuka could ask what Shinji meant by that, the entire ship suddenly shook. Rei fell into Shinji's arms as she failed to maintain balance.

"What was that?" Asuka gasped.

"An Angel!" Shinji shouted as the trio rushed out of the cargo hold to see one of the battleships sink.

"For real?" Asuka internally grinned. '_Wunderbar, now I can show off what I can do!_' She then grabbed Shinji and tugged, "Come on!"

"Huh?" Shinji blinked as he was dragged away. Rei of course followed close behind. Asuka let go of Shinji when they reached a corner. Slightly confused, he waited, but when Asuka came back around wearing her plug suit and carrying a spare one with her.

"Here Third," Asuka smirked as she tossed him the suit. "You're getting a front row seat to my greatness."

"And get my gonads crushed by how tight that thing is?" Shinji grimaced. He then tossed it to Rei. "Here you go Rei; I think it will fit you better. Besides, red might look good on you."

"Affirmative," Rei nodded as she began stripping.

"HUH?" Asuka gaped. "I invited the Third on this trip! Not you! And why the hell are you stripping in front of a guy? Have you no shame?"

"Shinji has my permission to see me naked," Rei replied as she removed her dress. "Shinji, should you not change into your plug suit too?"

"Yeah, yeah," Shinji muttered as he reached into his jacket and removed the purple suit. "Won't be a moment."

* * *

"ALRIGHT! STARTING UP EVANGELION!" Asuka shouted.

"Remember what I taught you," Shinji said to Rei as the girl nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate.

'_Huh? That's weird_.' Asuka thought, wondering why she didn't have to switch over to the Japanese language program. '_Forget it, Asuka. We've got a battle to fight_.' she thought, grabbing the yokes and promising herself that she would prove that the Third Child had only been lucky, and that she was a real pilot.

"EVANGELION, UNIT 02, ACTIVATE!"

* * *

"Message from the _Othello_! EVA Unit 02 is activating!" the communication officers shouted.

"What?" cried the Captain, as everyone on the bridge turned towards the large ship.

"YEAH! GO, ASUKA!" cheered Misato as she patched into the Eva's communications.

* * *

"Just sit back and watch the master at work," said Asuka cockily.

"But the Eva has B-type equipment," stated Rei.

"That means we'll have some trouble if we fall into the water," added Shinji.

"Then we better avoid that," said Asuka. She was focused. She wanted to show how good of a pilot she really was.

"_Shinji, are you in there too?"_ a voice from the main carrier came in.

"Yes, Misato, and Rei's in here too," Shinji stated.

"_What? She is? But…This is just… okay fine! A triple piloting mission! So be it!"_

"We are running low on power and time," Rei stated, looking at the power countdown.

"_Get to the carrier. We've got the power cable ready to go," _Misato said.

"But how do we get there?" Shinji asked.

"Ever play hopscotch?" Asuka asked, grinning wickedly as her Eva launched itself off the ship mere moments before the Angel hit the tanker, landing on a destroyer and bounding towards the Over the Rainbow for the power feed.

Unfortunately, Asuka landed a little off center on the ship, causing it to tilt and dump several planes into the water.

The Captain was screaming about his equipment as Asuka inserted the power socket into her EVA, stopping the countdown timer. She turned towards the Angel, drawing her progressive knife.

The whale-like Angel sped towards the aircraft carrier and launched itself on the deck, where Unit 02 slammed into it with its fists and knife.

"It's bigger than the other ones!" Shinji shouted as he felt the jolt of the Angel.

Suddenly, the Eva's foot stepped on the aircraft elevator, giving way under the enormous strain and causing both Eva and Angel to tumble into the water.

'_Oh, no, no, no, NO!_' Asuka screamed in her head.

The Eva-02 was sinking and this got Asuka panicking. However, Shinji calmly took hold of her hands and said soothingly, "It's OK, Asuka. We're not going to die."

"How can you be so calm?" asked Asuka. "The Eva won't work underwater, we don't have any weapons, and that thing is gonna eat us whole!"

"A teacher told me that if you let fear overwhelm you, then you've already lost," said Shinji. "We cannot let fear beat us, we must conquer it."

"Shinji has proven to have sufficient skill in complicated situations," Rei added as she continued to stare at the Angel.

"So, how are we going to get out of this?" Asuka asked.

"You just have to trust me," said Shinji, "And the help of a good friend!"

"Huh?"

"Gekiwaza!" A blue aura flared out from Shinji, shocking her. Rei on the other hand was not surprised and was used to see Shinji do this, "Rai Rai Jyu!"

The same blue aura was being radiated from Eva-02 as the Angel was coming for them. All of a sudden, a blast burst forth from the aura and took form and materialized into the form of a large robotic shark with some silver armor covering its form. The shark swam fast and struck the Angel in the side, causing it to get pushed away by the beast.

"What is that!" Asuka shouted, "How did you do that!"

"It is apparently one of the techniques that Shinji employs in his battles," Rei commented analytically. "He deployed a similar tactic against the Jet Alone."

"Yeah, but HOW DID HE DO IT?" Asuka asked with a raised voice.

"Training," said Shinji simply, "And don't worry about the Eva not being able to swim, GekiShark will take care of it."

"Geki…what?" Asuka questioned.

"GekiShark, JyuKen Busou!" ordered Shinji.

"Beast-Fist Armament?"

The shark obeyed and then its tail separated from the rest of its body before the tail split in half. The three components then sped towards Eva Unit-02 and then combined. The shark's head formed a helmet over the Eva's head and then the tail halves then combined with the arms, forming a pair of flippers that doubled as sharp blades. Shinji smiled, thankful that the combination was complete.

"GekiEvaShark-02," Shinji grinned. "Burning up!"

"What did you do to my Eva?" demanded Asuka, more freaked out than anything.

"Gave it a temporary upgrade," said Shinji. "Now, Asuka! Swim!"

"Fine!" Asuka snapped as she hit the controls.

To her surprise, the objects on her Eva's arms allowed her to swim a great distance. More than enough to out swim the Angel that was attempting to eat them. Still, its gnashing teeth were coming closer, but at a slower rate.

"Okay, genius, what do we do now?" Asuka demanded. "How am I supposed to fight when I'm too busy running for my life?"

"If you give me a moment, I can set up the attack," Shinji frowned. As much as he liked this girl's fire, when she was stressed it got ugly. "Turn around so we can face it!"

"What? No way!" Asuka hissed.

"Don't make me knock you out so I can do it," Shinji frowned.

Asuka huffed but did what Shinji said. Still, she liked how he could take charge of the situation. Eva-02 turned around and faced the oncoming Angel without pause. The beast opened its large maw with the intent of swallowing the machine in one gulp. Inside the Eva, Shinji grabbed the controls on top of Asuka's hands as he got his Shark Geki channelling through the red machine.

"Gekiwaza!" he called. "Dai Gan Gan Zan!"

Eva 02 began swirling in the water, moving like a bullet towards the Angel. The Angel didn't care, confident that it would be able to swallow this nuisance. Eva 02 just continued on, gaining speed as the Angel loomed closer. Eva-02 shot past the giant teeth of the monster, seemingly swallowed in one gulp. However, one moment later, the Angel stiffened.

Inside the beast's mouth, Eva-02 had just ploughed through the core of the angel before slicing through the back of the beast's mouth. Eva-02 carved a bloody tunnel through the body of the angel before it burst out through the back end of the beast. Eva-02 stopped spinning, but kept swimming for the surface.

Below them, the Angel's body was swelling up like a balloon. It was a swift process in which would shock only a few, the Angel bloated up like a bad zit in areas before finally exploding in a muffled underwater explosion.

"Yatta," said Shinji, relieved and victorious. Rei took the moment to lean against his and hold his arm. "Rei?"

"The battle is over," Rei spoke. "We did this after defeating the 5th. I would like to do it again."

Meanwhile, Asuka was gobsmacked at what she had been witness to. She had seen things she never thought would happen, but they still happened. Her world of science was seriously rocked at seeing Shinji summon a giant shark and then upgrade her Eva with it. Hundreds of questions were hurtling through her mind, but the biggest one was…

"What was that?" Asuka stared in surprise. How had Shinji taken control of her Eva to execute that attack?

"I'll explain later, Asuka," said Shinji. "Let's just go up to the surface," he told her.


	10. A Friendly Rival Visits

After the battle, the three pilots exited the entry plug. GekiShark had vanished as soon as the Eva-02 was taken aboard and docked. Asuka asked, "Where's Kaji?"

Misato responded with a scowl, "In the middle of the fight he just flew off." Shinji gave Misato a sympathetic look which he then cast onto Asuka who looked upset over Kaji just leaving like that and missing the battle.

"Oh," Asuka frowned.

"But great work out there," said Misato, "And you too, Shinji!"

Shinji shrugged, "Hey, I just backed Asuka up. The Angel's dead so that's all I care about."

"Yeah, which reminds me," said Asuka. "How did you-?"

"SHINJI!" Kensuke cut her off. "Man, that was awesome! It was almost as awesome as how you made that elephant appear."

"Elephant?" Asuka blinked.

"The Jet Alone incident. I'll tell you about it later," said Shinji.

Now Asuka wanted to know more about Shinji. At first she thought he was a jerk with a lucky streak and with no impressive skills whatsoever, but during the battle he'd remained calm and did things she never thought possible. Like Ritsuko, she didn't like to be left in the dark. She wanted to know more.

"So, what was that shark trick you pulled?" Asuka asked. It was Rei who answered.

"That was Shinji's Geki," Rei answered.

"Geki?" Asuka questioned. "What is that?"

"Just something my teachers taught me about. Right now I'm starved. Wonder if they have ice cream here," said Shinji.

* * *

The remainder of the armada finally reached the port in Tokyo-3, and the captain was more that happy to get Eva-02 and Asuka off of his hands. Of course the German girl wasn't listening to his complaints as she hoped to find Kaji waiting for her at the shore. Meanwhile, Rei was still in the red plug suit since her clothes had been lost on the ship when the Angel plowed through it. Shinji had been smart enough to store his clothes in stuff space, making sure that he was in his uniform like always.

"Red's a good color on you Rei," Shinji commented as the pair stepped onto shore. "Still, I think blue might be your thing."

"Thank you, Shinji," Rei smiled, happy for the comment. She really did prefer blue. She wasn't sure why, but she just did.

"This has been the greatest day in my entire life," Kensuke sighed as he watched the footage of the Angel battle again.

"And another reminder that you are never going to get laid, much less find a girlfriend," Toji commented from the side. Kensuke was too trapped in his footage to care.

Off with thee adults, Misato had submitted her report about the battle and everything that happened to Ritsuko. However, hearing that Shinji had summoned another animal from out of nowhere and apparently got it to join with Unit-02 just made her more incensed. Seeing it happen to Unit 01 just got her upset, reminding her of how little she understood. Of course, finding out it was possible to do with other Evas just pissed her off.

"Dammit," she growled. "That kid is going to drive me to an early grave,"

"Hey, I have no complaints so long as it works," Misato shrugged.

"But that shark gave Unit-02 the ability to fight underwater even though it only had B-type equipment!" Ritsuko scowled. "This is more than just adding a weapon; this is modifying the Eva's very structure!"

"Again, it works, I don't complain," Misato shrugged.

* * *

After getting a change of clothes, Rei, Asuka and Shinji went to the ice cream parlor. It was becoming one of Rei's favorite places to go, especially with Shinji. She enjoyed spending time with him. Right now she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue buttoned down shirt with a black ribbon hanging around the collar.

After they'd gotten Rei relocated to Misato's apartment, they went on a shopping spree to get Rei some new clothes. Rei kept picking the worst combinations, but luckily Misato was there to help since she had an eye for fashion. What really got Shinji blushing was when Misato had Rei parade in some very skimpy sleepwear. Sure, Rei had little to no modesty, but she'd gotten into the habit of sneaking into his bed at times.

At the ice cream parlor, Shinji got himself a banana split and was currently enjoying the delicious frozen treat. "Ah…now that hits the spot." He then asked Rei, "How do you like your sundae?"

Rei's sundae was vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate sauce, sprinkled with crushed nuts and with a cherry on top. "It is good, Shinji."

Asuka too had gotten herself an ice cream. She chose strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. She had her ice cream sprinkled with crushed nuts, some colorful sprinkles, had gummy bears put in it and it was also topped by a cherry. As she dug in, she gave Shinji a critical eye. She'd underestimated him and he'd basically saved her skin. Though she wouldn't admit it, but he was slowly earning her respect.

He was the rival she was looking for.

"So, Third," Asuka finally spoke up. "Just where did you get those skills that let you create that huge shark?'

"My fighting style, GekiJyuKen," Shinji answered. "I've been learning it since I was four. I'm not at Kensei level yet, but I can match my sempai anytime."

"Kensei?" Asuka blinked. "Fist Sages? Who are those guys?"

"They're the masters of GekiJyuKen," Shinji answered. "They're second Generation masters who learned under the founder of JyuKen Brusa Ee. They were the ones who managed to teach me a lot of what I know. My sempai are their students and third generation users. I'm the start of the fourth."

"Wow, if they can help you kick ass then maybe I should sign up," Asuka commented. "Who are these Kensei and sempai?"

"I wouldn't hold my breath Asuka," Shinji commented. "The Kensei are picky about who they teach. I only got teaching by recommendation from my sempai. You have to work you butt off to get their attention."

"Humor me," Asuka retorted.

"Fine," Shinji shrugged. "Well, there's Master Bat Li, who taught me the Bat-Ken. Master Sharkie Chan taught me Shark-Ken while Master Elehung Gambou taught me Elephant-Ken. There's also Master Sha-Fu who taught most of my sempai. Then there's the Maser Triangle of Master Gorrie Yen of Gorilla-Ken, Byon Byao of Gazelle-Ken, and Michelle Peng of Penguin-Ken. Those three are on a different level than the others and I haven't earned their teachings yet."

"And these sempai?" asked Rei.

"Well, Gou-sempai was the one who found me and taught me Wolf-Ken," Shinji explained fondly. "Ran-sempai was like a mother to me and used Cheetah-Ken. Gou-sempai's brother Retsu uses Jaguar-Ken and taught me growing up. Jan-sempai was like a big brother and we'd compare my skill to his Tiger-Ken. Ken-sempai was like another brother, amazingly he learned Rhinoceros-Ken like Master Brusa Ee."

"Hmm," Asuka frowned. She was slightly jealous that Shinji had such a nice family life. Her own mother had gone insane and hung herself and a doll she identified as Asuka. Her father promptly forgot about her as if she didn't exist and got remarried to some bitch that he'd never stand up to. All Asuka EVER had was Eva and that was what she was going to make her mark in the world with.

Rei heard Shinji's description of his teachers/family. Shinji was teaching her GekiJyuKen at the moment. Perhaps if she learned enough, she could contact these teachers for extra tutelage. It would certainly help her catch up with Shinji so she could stand beside him.

"So, what else can you do with GekiJyuKen?" asked Asuka.

"Well, I can summon the GekiBeasts, like that shark," explained Shinji. "And also I can pretty much hold my own against a more experienced opponent."

"Shinji even defeated the commander," added Rei.

"Rei…" admonished Shinji. "She wasn't supposed to know that."

"You beat up your own commander?" Asuka asked, surprised.

"It's a LONG story," said Shinji.

"I've got time," said Asuka. In her mind she was thinking, '_OK, if I get close then maybe I can learn that trick. Who knows…maybe I can make my Eva more powerful_.'

"I'm sure you do, but now we want to know about you," said Shinji.

"Me?"

"I told you my life story, so it's your turn now. After all, we're teammates now," said Shinji.

"Fine," Asuka huffed. "My mother…died when I was young. My father raised me since then and remarried to a woman I can't stand. Home life sucks but it got better when I was told I was going to pilot an Eva. I was a complete natural at it and got top scores in all of my training. Piloting Unit 02 was just as easy for me. I heard the Angels started appearing in Japan so I was hoping to get some action at home. Next thing I know I'm getting transferred here in Japan and meeting you two. The rest is history."

"Rather brief," Shinji shrugged. Maybe she didn't like talking about it. "So how about you, Rei? I don't know too much about your life before I came to Tokyo-3."

"I never met my birth parents," Rei replied calmly, recalling her cover story. She wasn't secure enough in telling the truth about her origins. "Commander Ikari took me in and raised me. I suspect it's because I was discovered to be capable of piloting the Eva. I trained since I was old enough and met Shinji on the day the Angels first attacked. It was a memorable day." Of course it was memorable. That was the day she met Shinji.

* * *

A young boy, a year older than Shinji, stepped off the bus at a bus stop in Tokyo-3. He wore a black leather jacket over a blood red t-shirt and blue jeans with black combat boots. On his hands he wore black cut-off gloves. His hair was black and spiked up with blood red highlights and he had auburn eyes. A scar ran over his right eye as he scanned the area.

"So, this is where Ikari-kun ran off to," he spoke to himself. He closed his eyes and then raised a hand as if he was reaching for something. Suddenly, he closed his fist tight and grinned, opening his eyes as his lips curled into a maniacal grin.

"I've found you…"

* * *

Shinji suddenly froze and dropped his spoon, the action which was noticed by both girls.

"What's wrong, Shinji?" asked Rei.

"Got a brain freeze or something?" joked Asuka. She laughed but stopped when she noticed the serious look on his face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"He's here," he said in a hushed tone.

* * *

The strange leather-clad boy looked towards the ice cream parlor and smiled when he saw his target at one of the outdoor tables with two very attractive girls. His attention was on the redhead before shifting towards his target, Shinji.

"Looks like this will be my 100th win," the boy said before he charged ahead.

* * *

"IKARI, FIGHT ME!"

Shinji, upon hearing this, grabbed Rei and Asuka around the waists before jumping high into the air. The Second Child let out a yell of surprise but the First Child was stoic. There was a sudden crash and when Shinji landed, Asuka got out of his grip.

"What the hell was that for, baka!" she screamed and Shinji simply pointed to their table, which had been broken in two with a strange male standing at the spot. "Who's that?"

"Hey, Ikari-kun, it's been awhile," said the young man as he cracked his knuckles and popped his neck.

"What do you want, Rukawa-dono?" asked Shinji.

"You know this freak?" Asuka questioned.

"Oh, Ikari-kun and I go way back," said Rukawa. "Isn't that right, Ikari?"

"Rukawa-dono, what are you doing here?" Shinji questioned, letting go of Rei.

"To finish things," said Kannami Rukawa before he charged forward. Without hesitation, Shinji charged right back. They threw their fists and they met with thunderous force. Asuka just gaped as she watched the two boys go into a flurry of furious punches and kicks, hoping to injure each other before they began to grapple.

"You've improved, Ikari-kun," complimented Kannami.

"So have you, Rukawa-dono," replied Shinji.

"But I'm better!" Kannami roared before he pulled Shinji towards him and slammed his knee into Shinji's gut. Shinji let out a gasp but recovered quickly to head butt Kannami in the gut which sent him staggering.

"Shinji!" Asuka yelled.

"Shinji, are you alright?" asked Rei. Her eyes wandered. Just where was Section 2?

* * *

The fight was being monitored by Gendo and Fuyutsuki asked, "Shouldn't you send in Section 2?"

Gendo answered, "I wish to study this boy," as he zoomed onto Kannami, "He seems to know the Third Child."

"But not on good terms," added Fuyutsuki as he continued to watch the fight.

"Whatever their quarrel is about is irrelevant," said Gendo offhandedly. "This is just the clue we need into the Third Child's past."

Fuyutsuki thought, '_You wouldn't need any clues if you checked up on the boy more often when he was growing up_.'

* * *

Kannami wiped off the blood that was flowing down his chin. His lip had been cut. Shinji was sporting a bruise on his cheek as well. Shinji stated, "First blood goes to me."

"Maybe, but I never let something like that stop me," Kannami spat.

"Why did you come to Tokyo-3?" Shinji questioned.

"You and I have unfinished business," replied Kannami. "99 wins and 99 losses, remember?"

"And 98 draws," reminded Shinji.

Kannami eyes narrowed as he spoke, "I'm gonna make this my 100th win, Ikari-kun."

"Bring it on, Rukawa-dono!" Shinji challenged.

The two boys then lunged at each other to continue their fight once more.

The two of them were attracting the crowd. Rei was still wondering why Section 2 hadn't acted to take care of the assailant. Apparently, they were either slow or didn't think Shinji was in any danger.

"Let's take this to the next level!" Kannami announced, "Ringi!"

Shinji saw the Ki rise up and gasped, "Rukawa!"

"Rinki Gaiso!" Kannami finished and his entire body exploded in Confrontation Ki. Shinji was forced to cover his eyes as he backed away and when the flash of Confrontation Ki faded, Kannami now stood in a new form.

He was clad in armor that looked to be based on several animals. On his chest was a lion's head, on his right shoulder was a chameleon's head, on his left shoulder was a hawk's head and his head was covered by a bear-like helmet with a blood red visor between the bear's jaws. The back of the suit had hawk-like wings and he had a pair of wicked looking wrist claws. Flaps of armor hung from his waist. The main coloring of the suit was reddish brown and there seemed to be sections of it covered in fur.

"Kannami…how?" Shinji asked. People were murmuring as they saw the latest turn of events.

"I've been training a long time for this, old friend," said the transformed Kannami. "So, shall we settle this?"

Shinji had no choice. He had to morph. He said, "It wouldn't be fair if you were the only on who changed, would it?"

Kannami realized what Shinji meant by that and said, "So, you've got one of those too."

"Naturally." Shinji revealed his watch and with a push of a button a pair of wings spread out from the side and then Shinji called out, "Shriek! Wings of the Beasts! Beast On!"

After activating the WingChanger, Shinji spread his arms as an aura projection resembling a large bat appeared behind him. The bat wrapped its wings around Shinji and then vanished in a flash, donning the boy in a tight black bodysuit with silver gloves and boots. There was also a silver scratch mark on his chest, the emblem of SCRTC. On his back were also markings that resembled a pair of bat wings that went under his arms to wrap around his chest. Finally, the bat's head engulfed Shinji's head and morphed into a black helmet with bat wings on the sides and silver framing the visor and around the mouth area with a pair of points above the visor.

Asuka gawked at the transformed Third Child as Shinji spoke and went into a kata, "With the Spirit of the Bat! My wings cannot be bound! I fly freely in the night! Freedom Wings! GekiWing!"

Rei just stared as she looked Shinji up and down. "Shinji?"

"How the hell!" Asuka shouted.

GekiWing and Rukawa circled each other, their eyes focused on each other before they lunged at each other. In their transformed states they were faster, stronger, and their Ki had been increased. This was a fight between two practitioners of the Beast Fist.

"GekiSabre!" GekiWing called out as he summoned a pair of Chinese broad swords with blue hilts. He then swung at Rukawa who blocked with one of his claws before slashing him across the chest. GekiWing flinched but recovered quickly to stab his second blade forward to send Rukawa staggering. "Hyah!"

"Rargh!"

Claws and blades sliced through the air and connected, causing sparks to rain down around the two. They fought with the ferocity of beasts, which right now they were drawing every inch of their power from.

"I'm gonna win, Ikari-kun!" said Rukawa.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Rukawa-dono!" GekiWing replied.

The fight continued after the banter and Asuka was transfixed.

"Shinji's…good," she had to admit. At first she thought she was the best at everything, but clearly she wasn't.

"Shinji…" Rei uttered, worried for her best friend.

"Shinji, kick that freak's ass!" Asuka cheered.

The other spectators were also cheering on Shinji, thinking this was some sort of live show. In a way it was.

The two fighters' weapons were stuck in a deadlock and Rukawa snorted, "Looks like we've gathered a crowd, Ikari-kun."

"Can you blame them for being curious, Rukawa-dono?" GekiWing replied.

"I bet they came to see me kick your ass!"

"Fat chance!"

They leapt away at each other and glared before simultaneously calling out their techniques.

"Ringi: Goyu Koha!"

"Gekiwaza: Ro Ro Dan!"

Rukawa released a black lion made of his Confrontation Ki as GekiWing released a wolf made of his Fierce Ki. The two aura beasts battled in the air as their masters continued to fight as well. The two beasts then exploded and sent their masters flying backwards. The force of the explosion also forced their transformations to fail at the same time.

"Kuso…" Kannami growled as he pushed himself to his feet, "another draw."

"The 99th draw," finished Shinji as he got up to his own feet.

"Don't remind me!" Kannami snapped. He cracked his knuckles, "Let's continue!"

Shinji groaned and then the two girls he was with were at his side. "Rei? Asuka?"

"You will not harm Shinji," said Rei firmly.

"That's right! I need to know more about the Third, so you can't kill him just yet!" added Asuka.

"Kill him?" Kannami questioned before he blew up with uncontrollable laughter, "Why would I want to kill him?" he laughed.

Asuka blinked in confusion and looked towards Shinji. "Shinji, do you know this bozo?"

"Oh, we go way back," said Shinji as he rolled his eyes. "He's an old friend."

"Is it normal for friends to attack each other?" Rei asked. Even with her inexperience with friendship, that was not exactly normal behavior between friends.

"They do if one of them doesn't show up for a fight," said Kannami as he looked at Shinji.

"I was called for something," retorted Shinji.

"More important than our duel?" snapped Kannami.

"He does not know of your job?" Rei asked.

"Not really…" Shinji replied. "Rukawa-dono doesn't really care about anything else except for fighting."

"Damn straight!" Kannami stated proudly. "Ikari-kun here just ran off a day before the date of our last duel where I would've won!"

"Fat chance!" Shinji snapped. "We all know who the better fighter is!"

"Excuse me!"

"Are you hard of hearing!"

"You koumori-teme (bat bastard)!"

"Baka-kuma (stupid bear)!"

The two boys began to grapple and continued to throw insults, but at the same time they were laughing. Rei tilted her head to the side as Asuka gawked.

'_Are all JyuKen artists insane?_' Asuka wondered.

"So, Ikari-kun, who's the cute redhead?" asked Kannami as he put Shinji in a headlock.

"Oh, that's Asuka Langley Sohryu," Shinji answered as he elbowed Kannami in the gut, forcing him of let go. "She works where I am right now. The bluenette is Rei Ayanami."

"Man," Kannami frowned as he got his breath back. "Why is it you meet all the babes huh?"

Asuka glowed under the praise. At least Shinji's friend was capable of identifying a hot girl when he saw one. She wasn't so sure about Ayanami yet, but she wasn't going to let herself get down by thinking about it.

"Anyway, so who are you anyway, really?" Asuka asked.

"How rude of me," Kannami smirked. "I am the warrior who never stops fighting, growing or gaining strength. RinJyu Lion-Ken, Chameleon-Ken, Hawk-Ken, and Bear-Ken user, Kannami Rukawa."

Now, Asuka knew very little about JyuKen from Shinji but when she heard the name RinJyuKen, she became confused. "RinJyuKen?"

"Of course," said Kannami proudly, "You didn't think that GekiJyuKen Beast Arts was the ONLY JyuKen School that existed, huh? The RinJyuKen Akugata happens to be one of the best JyuKen Schools around."

"Next to GekiJyuKen Beast Arts," added Shinji, hoping to get the last word. Kannami growled.

"Anyway…" Kannami looked at Asuka and grinned, "What are you doing Friday night, babe? Got any plans?"

Before Asuka could answer, Rei interrupted. "Shinji," Rei spoke up. "Did you not tell me that the RinJyuKen Akugata was a school which was powered by the pain of others?"

"Huh?" Asuka gaped.

"It used to be," Kannami spoke up. "After Mele-chan and Shishi-jii were revived, they decided that rather than use the pain of others, they attempted to use the personal pain of themselves to power their attacks. I'm the first student they taught."

"Kannami-dono was brought in by Rio-dono and Mele-dono. I think it's because they both share the same pain, but that's their story to tell," Shinji explained.

"So wait a second," Asuka frowned as she turned to Kannami. "Your school believes that pain drives a person to their limits to gain strength?" she then turned to Shinji. "And from what I get, yours believes that seeking out your limits with training is what makes you strong?"

"Yes," both boys nodded.

"Sheesh," Asuka muttered in German. "Are there any other styles I should be told about?"

"GenJyuKen," Rei answered. "The Mythical Beast Fist."

"Please don't talk about them," Kannami grumbled. "That style is extinct anyway."

"As long as Long is still alive then it might come back," Shinji retorted.

"But he's sealed away and nothing is going to break it," Kannami argued. "I mean, only the Kensei could break out of that seal with the help of their students."

"But Long was one of the Shigensho and is the Infinite Dragon too," Shinji shot back. "If we aren't careful, then he might just escape."

"Who?" asked the girls.

"Nothing," the boys answered.

* * *

Inside his office, Gendo and Fuyutsuki watched the interaction between the four children. They couldn't hear that much, but they could tell that they were getting chummy.

"Find out everything you can about this child."

"I'll make it my top priority." Fuyutsuki nodded.

Gendo continued watching, feeling that he might finally be able to get some control over the boy at long last.


	11. The Fourth Child

Kannami was taken to Misato's to have their talk elsewhere. It was only because people were staring at them after their fight. Being known as Eva pilots was one thing, but this attention Shinji could do without.

On their way, Kannami kept trying to get Asuka to date him. She was flattered, really, but wasn't sure if she wanted to date the guy. He was pretty intimidating in his fight with Shinji despite how jovial he was.

They were at Misato's and sitting in the living room. Kannami took one look at Shinji's guardian and said, "Man, Ikari-kun! You lucky bastard! I didn't know you were living with a supermodel!"

Misato gushed at the compliment and Shinji rolled his eyes.

"So, Kannami," began Misato. "You and Shinji are old friends?"

"Rivals, actually," corrected Kannami.

"Friendly rivals to be more precise," added Shinji. "We met when we were 7."

"You were 7, I was 8," retorted Kannami.

"I don't see much of a difference right now," Shinji countered.

"So, how exactly did you two meet?" Misato asked to find out more.

"Shishi-jii and Mele-chan, my teachers, brought me to where Ikari-kun was training. I wandered around and saw Ikari-kun being picked on by the more advanced students. I hate bullies so then I decided to teach those punks a lesson."

"Rukawa-dono got reprimanded but the bullies got a worse punishment," added Shinji. "They got expelled because they weren't displaying the proper traits of a GekiJyuKen artist."

"Well, and we've been friends ever since," finished Kannami.

"So, attacking him out of the blue is like a friendly meeting?" Asuka asked.

"What?" Misato gasped.

Shinji then told her about how Kannami suddenly attacked them at the ice cream parlour and challenged Shinji to a fight. With how friendly Shinji and Kannami were being right now, it was a bit hard to believe.

"So, will you be staying for dinner?" Rei asked.

"Is Ikari-kun cooking?" asked Kannami. Shinji nodded. "Then count me in! It's been awhile since I had an original Shinji Ikari dish."

"That's because you're too lazy to learn how to cook," said Shinji.

"Hey, I can cook!" defended Kannami.

"Throwing stuff into hot oil and deep frying it isn't exactly cooking," retorted Shinji.

"Urusai, koumori-teme!"

"Make me, baka-kuma!"

* * *

"Man, that was a good meal," said Kannami as he walked from the apartment. He then found himself surrounded by several men in black suit. "Who the fuck are you!?"

"You will come with us," the lead man said.

* * *

Kannami had only been minding his own business when these guys in black suits suddenly showed up. Sure, he could've beaten them up but when they identified themselves as NERV's security force, he went with them willingly. That was the only reason why Kannami was sitting across from Gendo Ikari at the moment.

"So, you're Ikari-kun's old man?" asked Kannami.

"I am the one asking the questions," stated Gendo. "Now, tell me what you know of the Third Child's past."

"No," replied Kannami.

"What do you mean 'no'?" scowled Gendo. "Are you defying an order from one of your betters?"

"One, if you couldn't even beat Ikari-kun, there's no way in hell you are my 'better'. And two, the only people I take orders from are Shishi-jii, Mele-chan…" Kannami jabbed his thumb at himself. "And me. If you got a problem with that then too fucking bad."

Gendo glared at Kannami. How dare this little punk talk to him in such a disrespectful manner!

"I could have you shot for being a threat to NERV," Gendo threatened.

"I've been shot at before," Kannami smirked. "Not a scratch on me. Besides, I could kick the ass of anyone who tries."

"Then you are capable of fighting like the Third Child," Gendo snorted.

"Similar, but not the same," Kannami shrugged. "Seriously though, Ikari-kun's been telling me about you. The Bastard King, the one who abandoned him in the middle of the street and then called him back because you 'needed' him. I've met some twisted folks, but you take the cake above all else."

"That is irrelevant," Gendo frowned.

"Oh I disagree," Kannami chuckled. "That means I am going to take every chance I get to bust your balls and make your life a living hell. Seriously, how the hell did you get Shinji's mom to even look twice at you? Did you get her drunk and screw her, hoping to make her be your girlfriend or something?"

Gendo was usually someone of supreme self-control. He always hid his emotions, assuming he had any, and never let anyone know what he was thinking. Still, if there was one thing that put a ding in his armor, it was his precious Yui. The woman that he was even now trying to reunite with through his scenario. This...punk, who accused him of something less than the love that he pledged Yui too was one of the things that could always make him slip.

Kannami stood up. "Now, let me outta here before I gotta force my way out."

"Fine..." Gendo conceded and he pressed the button that opened the door.

"In all, Old Man," Kannami snorted. "Stay out of my way and forget learning about Ikari-kun. You ain't getting a single thing. Strongarming us is a bad idea too, we tend to hit back and hit back hard. Don't bother getting up, I'll see my own way out."

With that, Kannami slipped out of the office and headed for the elevator. He wanted out of the place and he wanted it now. Maybe he would tell Shinji how to set off his old man for a favour. Say…putting in a good word with the fiery Asuka. Now that was a girl he could like.

* * *

"This is all your stuff?" Shinji gawked as he stared at all of Asuka's belongings.

"Yup, and I'll be staying here from now on, Third Child!" Asuka grinned.

It had been decided that Asuka would be staying with Misato. Of course, since Rei was already staying with them they had to pretty much delegate the rooms again. Since Rei enjoyed sleeping in the same room with Shinji, Asuka had to be given the smaller room. She didn't mind, really, but wanted Shinji to earn it so they had an arm-wrestling match.

Asuka begrudgingly admitted that Shinji was a lot stronger than he looked. Whatever training he had was definitely something special if the fight he had with Kannami hadn't been evident enough

Kannami himself had gotten a small apartment for himself and would drop by on occasion. When Shinji found out what Gendo had tried to do, he got angry and wanted to confront the commander himself. Rei convinced him otherwise. Kannami could take care of himself and had done so admirably. Not that Shinji didn't know that, but he was always on the lookout for a chance to beat up his dad.

"Well, I just need to unpack," said Asuka. "Mind helping?"

"Sure," said Shinji happily.

"But don't touch my undies!" she threatened.

"Hey, they're yours," said Shinji.

"May I help?" Rei offered.

Initially, Asuka viewed Rei as a doll but clearly she had been wrong. The blue-haired girl wasn't as expressive as Shinji but she wasn't as stoic as she was led to believe. Of course, Rei only expressed herself whenever Shinji was around, giving him hugs, kisses on the cheek and a smile. Shinji responded in kind and Asuka found herself jealous...almost.

At least Kannami showered her with compliments and such.

* * *

Then, there were more surprises when Shinji found out Asuka had been enrolled in his class and not just her.

"FIGHT ME, IKARI!!!" Kannami roared as he charged for Shinji's desk, throwing a fist. Shinji easily caught the attack and grinned at his friendly rival as everyone stared. Asuka was miffed. She had wanted to make an impression but Kannami had ruined it with his usual 'morning attacks'.

"Rukawa-dono?" Shinji saw his friend wearing the boys' uniform. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming to school. Shishi-jii and Mele-chan thought it'd be best if I went to school." Kannami didn't sound too happy about that.

"Excuse me!" Asuka exclaimed, "Focus on me, people!"

"What an attention hog," snorted Toji.

"She's not that bad, Toji," said Shinji.

"Well, at least it won't be boring," said Kensuke as he aimed his camera at Asuka. "So, who are you?" asked Kannami.

"A fellow practitioner of the Beast Fist style Ikari-kun here practices, only better," boasted Kannami.

"And yet I have more wins," retorted Shinji.

"Up yours, Koumore-teme!"

"Yours too, baka-kuma!"

Shinji and Kannami glared at each other before they began to grapple and exchange insults. Hikari went to stop them but was stopped by Rei.

"Representative Horaki," began Rei, "If I were you I would not get into the middle of that."

"But..." Hikari tried to argue.

"It is much safer for you," Rei interrupted.

Asuka huffed at her amazing introduction being ruined. Of course, she wasn't going to complain about the fighting. Neither were most of the girls. Reason? Shinji and Kanami's shirts got ripped, revealing the lean and toned muscle underneath. So the girls were being given a free show while the boys cheered and took bets. The girls got some pretty good eye candy as a reward too.

'_Yum,_' Asuka thought to herself, but if it was when she was looking at Shinji or Kannami she wasn't sure.

**

* * *

**

Outside the base, on the shoreline of Japan, the two Eva's stood ready.

It had been twelve days since the 6th Angel battle in the ocean. A battle they had won. But now the pair were at it again and this time in their respective Evas. Rei was put on standby at the base because her own Eva still needed extensive repairs after the battle with the 5th Angel.

"Just stay behind me, Third Child," Asuka called from Unit 02. "I'll take this thing out with no trouble."

"Are you sure about that, Asuka?" Shinji asked. "We don't have any data concerning what this thing is capable of. We don't even know what special skills it has."

"Special skills?" asked Asuka.

"The last four Angels have all had special abilities," Shinji explained over the monitor. "The Third Angel had an energy lance in its arm, the Fourth Angel had energy whips for arms, the Fifth Angel was strong both offensively and defensively, and the Sixth Angel was aquatically adapted," he listed, counting on his fingers.

"Stop worrying about it. That doesn't mean they're invincible. I can handle it," she smirked.

"I know you can," he said in encouragement, "I just feel much better if we know what this one's capable of." The words 'know thy enemy' rang through in situations like this.

Their attention shifted as a loud explosion erupted from the surf. Asuka saw the water rising out of the ocean, looking like an exploding geyser.

The Angel burst through the water staring at the two Evas as if in confusion. It was tall. Taller than the Eva's perhaps, and of a sleek grayish color with a bony mask like that of the Third Angel. I's body was curved to the point that it looked like it could roll itself into ball if it wanted to. What was odd was that its core looked like a yin-yang symbol, evenly curved down the middle. Like it could separate.

"I got it!" Asuka shouted as she gripped her lance and charged.

"ASUKA, WAIT!" Misato shouted before Shinji could.

The redhead leaped through the air, hop-scotching over half-sunk buildings and brought her lance down hard directly on the Angel, the high energy blade slicing the creature right down the middle. Her victory seemingly assured, Asuka leaped away to admire her work.

"See? A battle should be clean and elegant. Without waste," Asuka smirked.

'_You love showing off, huh, Asuka?_' Shinji mentally groaned.

Suddenly, Shinji's Ki senses picked up something coming from the target.

"Misato, something not right!" Shinji cried out as he adjusted his controls, drawing his Prog Knife out.

"What do you mean, Shinji?" The woman asked as the split form of the Angel suddenly started moving and the half pieces transformed into two whole, yet separate and smaller bodies. One was red, the other brown. Naturally Misato's reaction was, "THAT'S JUST BULLSHIT!"

Asuka was caught off guard as the two smaller Angels turned to her and grabbed her, lifting her into the air, twirling her around like a pizza, and tossing her headfirst into the ocean.

"_Unit 02 is down, Unit 02 is down!_" the shouting came to full alert.

'_Yeah, I noticed_,' Shinji thought as he leveled his rocket launcher at the on-coming Angels. He hadn't realized that someone else was present.

"Asuka!" Kannami cried as he dashed towards the downed Eva 02.

Kannami had gone on a training trip, hoping to get the edge on Shinji after hearing that he was constantly going into NERV for testing and not much JyuKen training. Of course, he missed the evacuation order and thus got a front row view of the fight against the 7th Angel.

At first he was pleased to see Asuka score a killing blow, but got wary when the Angel split into two Angels and proceeded to beat the crap out of the two Evas.

At the moment, Kanami had gotten to the entry plug area. He didn't know exactly where it was, but the covering at the base of the neck was a pretty big clue. Of course, the entry code was needed, but Kannami was never one for patience. So, he smashed the controls with a Rinki-powered punch. The system shorted out and the plug rose out.

"Hold on," Kannami muttered to himself as he pulled the door open, causing LCL to spill out over the Eva's armor. He didn't even notice the burning in his hands from the heated steel. Peeking inside, he saw that Asuka was out cold from the impact.

"Damn," Kannami hissed as he looked back to the battle. Shinji was getting double teamed by the two Angels and he probably wasn't going to last much longer. Looking back at the Eva, he suddenly got an idea.

"Hope it works," he muttered before he leaped inside the plug. Shutting the door, the machine drew the plug back in, and LCL began to flood the cockpit again. "Eww!"

Gagging as he breathed the LCL, Kannami gently placed Asuka to the side and removed the clips. Shinji explained about the goofy stuff he had to wear while piloting the Eva. It gave Kannami a good idea as to what he needed to do.

"Here we go!" Kannami roared as he pumped his Rinki into the behemoth machine.

Inside NERV, the techs began to cheer when Uint-02 began to get back up again.

"Asuka's okay," Misato breathed in relief.

"Sir!" Maya shouted to her superiors. "Asuka's synch ratio is going up! It's in the nineties!"

"Really?" Ristuko blinked.

"See if you can get visual on the pilot!" Misato ordered sharply.

"Yessir!" the techs replied.

They tapped away at the controls for a moment before the screens lit up. They were expecting to see the normally surly redheaded pilot of Unit-02. What they got was the punkish face of Kannami grinning like an idiot.

"Kannami?!" Misato shrieked. "What the hell are you doing in there?!"

"Driving it, what the fuck does it look like?" Kannami answered as he pushed the Eva forward.

"How?! When?! Wha-?!" Ristuko gaped. Even Gendo was showing surprise.

"It's not hard," Kannami answered. "Just move the controls and act as if is your own body, right?"

"It's not that simple!" Ritsuko shrieked.

"Sure it is!" Kannami laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an Angel to kill!"

Unit-02 slammed into the red Angel while Unit 01 kept itself occupied with the brownish-gold one. It was a sneak attack, but it got the job done. However, the pair of Angels quickly recovered. Both began shooting large blasts of energy at the two Evas, aiming to destroy them.

"Damn!" Shinji cursed as he dodged the blast. He looked to his unexpected partner. "We're going to run out of power soon!"

"Then we're going to have to get stronger!" Kannami growled. "These things are in a partnership. We have to get strong enough to kill them, but move in synch to beat them.

"We're lucky we've been fighting each other for so damn long," Shinji muttered. "Hey, I've heard you RinJyuKen Akugata guys can summon RinBeasts. Can you?"

"Damn right," Kannami laughed. "You just get a GekiBeast ready."

"Done," Shinji nodded. "Gekiwaza!"

"Ringi!"

"Rai Rai Jyu!"

"Shorai Ju!"

The two Evas exploded with either green energy or gold energy depending on the Eva in question. Above them, two energy constructs appeared, trumpeting or roaring loudly. One was the familiar form of the GekiElephant, but the other was a black lion with a gold mane and a tail which looked like it could double as a sword.

"GekiElephant!"

"RinLion!"

"JYUKEN BUSOU!"

GekiElephant disassembled, becoming the pieces of armor which attached to Unit 01. Its head and snout became the war hammer which was unique to the configuration. RinLion disassembled into four different pieces. The front half and the back half attached to Unit 02's shoulders with a loud metallic sound. The face and head of RinLion attached to Unit-02's chest. The rear end of the lion made up the guard for the sword, which was RinLion's tail.

"GekiEvaElephant-01!"

"RinEvaLion-02!"

"BURNING UP!"

"LET'S GET THEM!!!" Kannami shouted.

"CHARGE!!!" roared Shinji.

The two Rin and Geki powered Evas then went on the assault. The two attacked simultaneously, striking at the twin Angels. Kannami's sword and Shinji's meteor hammer connected and sent the Angels reeling before the two Evas kicked up with their feet to send the two Angels falling to their feet.

The two Angels got up and attacked again. Kannami was ready. He recalled how the core was the weakness so he stabbed his sword into the Angel's core, hoping to finish it for good. Once he was sure he'd defeated his foe, he withdrew the blade.

Of course, it wasn't over. The Angel core healed itself, shocking Kannami before an uppercut forced the Unit-02 onto its back.

"Grr!" Kanammi growled and then noticed that Asuka was stirring. "Asuka!"

"Hm?" Asuka blinked and then her eyes widened in shock before she shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY EVA!?"

Kannami flinched at the volume and answered, "Piloting, saving your skin, and getting my ass kicked."

Shinji was using the EleHammer to knock one of the Angel backwards but with Unit-02 down again they once again double-teamed him.

"Ikari-kun, I'm coming!" said Kannami. "Ringi: Shishi Ko!" RinLion's mouth opened wide and fired a blast of Confrontation Ki at one of the Angels. It struck it in the back and it fell forwards. Shinji had Eva-01 toss the other Angel into the air and slam it through the air like a baseball after hitting it with the EleHammer.

"What did you do to my Eva?" asked Asuka.

"The same thing Shinji did when he fought that thing in the water," answered Kannami. Shinji had told him a few stories of his first few fights with the Angels. Asuka had been there too to witness her Eva being modified. "Now, to cut me up some Angel!" He charged forward and Eva-02 raised its sword to strike, "Ringi: Rin Zan!" He slashed at the Angel several times with his sword, hoping to cut it apart. At the same time, Shinji was executing an attack too.

"Gekiwaza: Dai Gan Gan Gan!" The Eva-01 began to strike the other Angel repeatedly with the EleHammer repeatedly.

The two Angels were down and looked ready to be finished off. However, at the precise moment the two Evas lost power.

* * *

Two hours later, NERV briefing room...

The Angel was still alive but was also heavily wounded. Right now it was recovering and put under heavy surveillance. An AT-Field surrounded it to protect it as it recovered. At the moment, the battle was being viewed on screen. Due to Kannami's involvement and ability to synch with Unit-02, he'd been brought along as well. At first Asuka was miffed that she needed saving but was grateful for the assist. She'd been a sitting duck and if it wasn't for Kannami then the Angel would've won. Still, she wanted to know how he'd gotten to synch so well and he just told her he just pumped his Rinki into the mecha to get it moving.

"Well, good work," said Fuyutsuki with a tint of sarcasm, "Even if you did fail to kill the Angel."

"Still, Mr. Rukawa was able to help gather some very valuable information," said Ritsuko.

"Me?" Kannami pointed to himself.

Ritsuko, at Misato's recommendation, decided to just give up on her study of Ki. It just couldn't be explained. Giving up was also less stressful. She wanted answers, sure, but what she got was on a whole different field. She didn't believe much in the supernatural or mysticism, only in hard facts, data and scientific research. Whatever Ki was...it just couldn't be explained. It wasn't like the AT-Fields, but it was still similar...just not similar enough to be studied.

"When you stabbed its core," Ritsuko explained, "This should've killed it but instead it healed. We believe this is because it was a half-core."

"Half-core?" the three teens parroted.

"The Angel has the power to divide itself into two smaller versions of itself. As a result, its core splits in two as well," Maya stated. "However, it's still connected."

"So, you're saying that because one of the cores was still intact, it was able to heal the other core?" Asuka asked in shock.

"Exactly. This wasn't foreseen, but now that we know, we will be making certain adjustments in order that you will be able to defeat the Angel," Fuyutsuki said.

"Such as?"

"A simultaneous, coordinated attack, using both Evas," Shinji and Kannami said in unison.

"Uh...right." Ritsuko said, looking at Maya.

"Figures."

"How did you know what I was going to say? Are you psychic?" Maya asked.

Kannami turned and grinned wickedly. "Am I scaring you?" This caused people to back away in fear.

"Ignore the baka-kuma," said Shinji, using his nickname for Kannami, "But a coordinated attack makes sense."

"We saw how you fought," said Ritsuko. "You were both nearly coordinated, but you were using different styles."

"Well, I mostly practice RinJyuKen," said Kannami. "Ikari-kun practices GekiJyuKen."

"The Yin and Yang of the Beast Fists," added Shinji. "So, even though we know each other well, we can't match our styles 100 percent."

"But, the Angel's neutralized," said Asuka. "Can't we take it out now?"

"No. While it's in recovery, it's thrown up an AT-Field that can repel any attack. The MAGI predict that it will come down when the Angel is fully healed, which will be about five days," Maya said.

"Well that's just perfect," she huffed as she slumped back in her chair.

"Hey, think of it as a learning experience," said Kannami and Asuka looked towards him. At first she wanted to be angry at him for hijacking her Eva, but then she realized he'd done so to save her. She couldn't be angry because of that and well she had to admit he was the better fighter from the several times she'd witnessed him and Shinji fighting. Didn't mean that she couldn't stew about it privately though. She didn't like anyone being in her Eva.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," said Shinji. "And plus we live to fight another day."

"I just have one question," said Kannami. "Is there a shower I can use right now? I don't want to smell like blood all day."

* * *

"So, that Rukawa boy is capable of piloting an Eva," said Gendo as he read the report. With him were Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki.

"And his synch ratio was a near match to the Third Child's the first time he piloted," said Ritsuko.

"I see…" said Gendo. "How interesting."

"Ikari, what do you plan to do?" asked Fuyutsuki.

"I think it's time we properly welcome the new Fourth Child."

* * *

Kannami was at Misato's with Shinji and the two boys were playing videogames. Asuka and Rei just sat back and watched as the boys duked it out. When Misato came in with some news, it shocked them all.

"I'M WHAT!?" Kannami shouted.

"HE'S the Fourth Child!?" shouted Asuka.

Misato nodded and continued, "Because of Kannami's ability to synch with Asuka's Eva, he's now officially the Fourth Child, as in the fourth pilot we have."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Kannami. "Me, a pilot? Does that mean I gotta take orders from that four-eyed old freak?"

"You mean Pops?" Shinji asked.

"Who else desperately needs a shave?" retorted Kannami.

"Unfortunately…yes," said Misato. She herself didn't openly express a liking to the commander but he didn't really care if anyone liked him or didn't. To him it didn't make a difference. His subordinates were all beneath him anyway.

"I'd rather swallow flaming swords than work for that bastard!" Kannami snapped. "No way! I am not piloting!"

"Well…since Asuka is still the official pilot of Unit-02, I don't think you'll be getting into the piloting seat anytime soon," said Misato.

"Though, Unit-03 is nearly completed," said Rei.

Kannami grumbled.

"Also, I wanted to tell you kids about the new training regime to help you beat the Angel!" grinned Misato.

Somehow, that grin was discomforting to three-fourth of the teens.

* * *

"Sooooo, we're going to be playing a marathon of DDR?" asked Shinji with a raised eyebrow.

Misato had brought in two dance machines that indeed were similar to the classic game of movement and music. They were attached to the TV and displayed scoreboards and dancing mats. While Misato didn't like the idea that it came from Kaji, she couldn't argue with it.

"No!" Misato frowned. "This is going to help two of you learn to move in perfect harmony! We have five days to train and we're not going to stop. Not unless you have a better idea."

"I can teach the basics of Bat-Ken," Shinji offered. Kannami was about to speak up before Shinji interrupted. "The basics of the style is moving instinctively and the training is synchro movements."

"Hello? From the RinJyuKen?" Kannami muttered.

"I'll consider it," Misato frowned. "If what you say is true I'd prefer the one who taught you to teach it."

"Uh…" Shinji gulped. "Master Bat Li is kind of picky about that. Plus, he's more of the nocturnal type."

"Yeah, real batty if you ask me," Kannami chuckled.

"Anyway," Misato spoke up. "Ideally, we'd prefer that Kannami and Shinji be partnered, but while RinJyuKen and GekiJyuKen are very similar the differences would keep them from a perfect synchronization. So, we're going to have Rei partner with Shinji and Asuka partner up with Kannami."

"But Rei's Eva isn't finished getting repaired yet," Shinji argued. "How can Rei pilot next to me if her Eva is still broken down?"

"That's why when we aren't here, we'll be at NERV for cross-synchro testing," Misato smirked. "Rei will be tested in Unit 02 and 01 while Shinji will test 02 as well."

"I am not letting them into my Eva!" Asuka snapped.

"You let Kannami in," Misato argued.

"I was unconscious!" Asuka retorted.

"True, but Kannami proved he is able to synch with the Eva," Misato added.

"Um…excuse me? I haven't exactly agreed to pilot here," said Kannami.

"I thought you'd look forward to fighting giant monsters," commented Shinji.

"I'm not too keen about working under your bastard of a dad either," stated Kannami. "Just the sight of him makes me wanna hurl."

"There's more at stake here, Rukawa-dono," said Shinji. "I don't like Pops, but I don't like the idea of the Angels hurting innocent people more."

"And that's why I think you're too nice for your own good, Ikari-kun," said Kannami, "You put others before yourself."

"So, are we gonna do this or what?" asked Asuka.

"What about school?" asked Rei.

"I'll call the school," said Misato. "I'll tell them it's official NERV business why you're not at school."

"Trapped in an apartment for five days with my best friend/rival and three babes," Kannami snickered. "I don't have any pressing matters at the moment."


	12. Training Daze

Two days later, Toji and Kensuke were heading to Shinji's apartment complex. Neither Shinji, Rei, Asuka, nor their weird friend Kannami had been seen at school since the last Angel attack. Naturally, even though they were training, the two boys were still a little concerned.

"Wonder what kind of training they're doing," Kensuke grinned as he checked his camera. "I bet it's something cool!"

"Yeah," Toji frowned. "And the fact that Shinji's probably in there with Misato has to play a role in something."

"A hottie like her?" Kensuke grinned. "Definitely!"

Both boys entered the building and surprising found Hikari waiting for the elevator, "Hey class rep! What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" Hikari blinked as she turned to see who was calling. "Oh, I'm just here to see if Asuka is okay. What about you guys?"

"Making sure the Red Devil didn't eat his liver or something," Kensuke answered.

"Asuka isn't that bad!" Hikari chided.

"Are we talking about the same girl?" Toji asked incredulously. "Do you know how many guys she's given a tongue lashing to?"

"About the same number of times Shinji and Kannami have dropped everything so they can fight," Hikari answered. "What is wrong with those two?"

"Shinji said they're old sparring buddies," Kensuke explained. "They go way back and are actually pretty good friends. Fighting is their way of being friendly."

"Well, I don't think the school can afford replacing more desks," Hikari huffed as the elevator finally arrived. All three students boarded it and took it up to the floor their friends lived on. All three came to the door of the apartment and hit the buzzer.

"Coming!" two voices spoke at the same time.

The door opened and Kannami and Asuka stuck their heads outside, "What is it?" Both of them were wearing workout outfits that were eerily similar. Only Kannami was wearing red while Asuka was donned in black.

"What the-?" Toji gaped. "Kannami, what the heck are you doing here?"

"Training," both the RinJyuKen user and the pilot of Eva-02 answered at the same time.

"Why are you guys talking in synch like that?" asked Kensuke.

"That's part of the training," two new voices spoke from the side. The three students looked up from the door to see Misato, Shinji, and Rei walking towards them. Misato was in her uniform but Shinji and Rei were in workout clothes like their friends. Only Rei was donned in purple and Shinji was in blue.

"It's part of the strategy we devised to beat the Angel," Misato explained as she brought everyone inside. "We're going to have our pilots work in synch to beat the Angels at their own game."

"To that end, we have to do everything together," Shinji and Rei continued. "Work together, eat together, sleep together..."

"GAH!" Hikari recoiled "That's just improper! Asuka! I thought better of you!"

"Get your head out of the gutter!" Asuka and Kannami snapped. "We all sleep in the living room and Misato is there to make sure nothing inappropriate happens!"

This had the desired effect of calming Hikari down, "Oh, well, I guess that's okay then."

"But then why is Kannami part of this?" asked Kensuke.

"It was discovered during the fight with the Angel that he's the Fourth Child," Shinji and Rei explained. "He entered Asuka's Eva and managed to get it moving himself."

"So if this is about synchronization, wouldn't Kannami and Shinji be best since they use the same fighting style?" wondered Toji.

"RinJyuKen and GekiJyuKen may be derived from the same style," Kannami and Asuka spoke up. "But the differences are too big to allow a perfect synch. So the girls are paired with the boys since they don't know either style."

"So, you wanna come in?" Misato invited.

"Sure!" Toji and Kensuke happily accepted. The pilots went back into the apartment, followed by their three civilian friends.

Once in the living room, they saw the DDR machined and Toji spoke, "Hey, I thought you were training. This looks like you've been having fun on DDE (Dance Dance Evolution. Kinda like a newer version of Dance Dance Revolution).

'This is for their synch training," said Misato. "Well, it was…"

"Was?" Hikari questioned.

"We tried to get Shinji and Kannami to try it first, but that didn't work out so well…" said Misato, recalling the first day of training.

* * *

"_I'm gonna beat you, koumori-teme!" Kannami yelled._

"_No way, baka-kuma!" Shinji yelled right back. The two boys were on the dance mats and dancing up a storm. However, they've been at it for almost 5 hours._

"_Captain, when will our turn be?" Rei asked as Misato watched the two boys dancing and sweating._

"_When they get tired," said Misato. She couldn't believe these two boys' stamina…not to mention their competitiveness._

"_If they get tired, you mean," Asuka corrected. She'd seen the two boys fight and not much could tire them out. "Where do they get that energy?"_

_Rei answered, "Rinki and Geki." That had been a rhetorical question but Rei answered anyway._

* * *

"They were playing the damn thing all night," said Misato, "So I had to pull the plug."

"And I was winning," said Kannami.

"No you weren't," protested Shinji.

"Yes I was."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I WAS!"

"No you WEREN'T!"

"YES I WAS, KOUMORI-TEME!"

"NO YOU WEREN'T, BAKA-KUMA!"

Then the two boys began to fight.

"I HAD THE HIGHER SCORE IKARI-KUN!"

"NO WAY, RUKAWA-DONO! I WAS BETTER!"

Everyone was seeing a huge dust-cloud where random limbs and body parts could be seen. The dust cloud rolled about as the two boys fought and Misato sighed.

"This is going to take awhile…" Misato sighed.

"So much for staying in synch…" muttered Asuka.

Rei simply watched the two boys fight.

* * *

"Don't think about your movements, just feel," instructed Shinji. Since the DDE-Synch training plan was a bust, they went for the backup plan. They decided to go with Shinji's suggestion to the Bat-Ken training which promoted synchronization. Shinji was giving instruction, holding a fan, as Rei, Asuka and Kannami stood behind him holding similar fans. Shinji was leading them through the slow and fluid movements.

"Wow, is that really a fighting style?" said Hikari, entranced, "it's like a beautiful dance…"

"And he used that style to cut up that Angel?" Kensuke questioned, recalling the fight with the Fourth Angel. Seeing Bat-Ken up close like this, it was hard to believe that it'd been used to kill an Angel.

Toji wasn't sure what to say. Such movements shouldn't be called fighting, but Shinji's style was definitely something unpredictable. He then watched the other pilots, except for Rei, struggle to follow the movements perfectly. Asuka wasn't as coordinated as she thought and Kannami…well his style was an anti-thesis of Shinji's so maybe that was why he was having a hard time to do it.

"Dammit! This is so stupid! I can't concentrate on something like this!" shouted Kannami. He stopped moving and dropped his fan. "I can't learn this way! RinJyuKen is about fighting, not this peace and movement crap!"

"Yeah! I can't do this either!" Asuka agreed. "You can't do complex moves like this without thinking about it! It's impossible!"

"I am having no troubles," Rei spoke softly as she continued following Shinji's movements as if they were reflections.

"Fine, fine," Misato sighed. "Kannami, Asuka, you two try the DDE machine for a while. Rei and Shinji will keep up with this. Maybe with the boys in separate rooms there won't be another fight."

"I was kind of hoping to get the next one on film," Kensuke grinned. "The girls are shelling out big money for shots of Shinji and Kannami shirtless."

"Aida!" Hikari snapped. "I can't believe you! Taking advantage of friends for money?"

"It's not as if we're taking shots of girls topless or something," Toji tried to argue.

"Suzuhara! You too?" Hikari cried incredulously.

"Ah, let them be," Kannami snickered as he walked up to the trio. "I've got nothing to hide. Still…" he then grabbed Toji and Kensuke by the scruffs of their shirts. "I had better get a 25 percent cut or else there is going to be trouble."

"No problem!" the boys nodded swiftly.

* * *

A little while afterwards, the pilots were given a half-hour break. Kannami and Asuka went out to get some fresh air while Shinji sat on the floor meditating. Rei too began to meditate with him. Their friends/classmates had gone home already.

Asuka and Kannami had walked a short distance to a convenience store. Asuka and Kannami went inside to get drinks. Asuka stood at the fridge but her eyes kept glancing over to Kannami.

She'd seen him without his shirt on and every time he moved those muscles just rippled. Asuka herself was attracted to strong and confident guys like Kaji. Shinji was proving to be strong but Kannami…well…he was definitely a prime dating material if she wanted a boyfriend. It was actually getting harder to keep Kaji in her mind when she had such prime guys around her all the time.

Thinking of Kannami's topless body caused Asuka to heat up again and she began willing herself, '_Cool down! Don't ogle him! You're not a pervert!_' She watched him walk away and couldn't help but admire him. '_Woah, check out that butt!_'

"Asuka, are you coming?" Kannami asked. He was already at the register, ready to pay.

"OK, coming, Fourth!" Asuka ran over and then noticed his scowl. "What?"

"Please, don't call me that," he told her. She blinked as he went towards the door and walked out. She quickly paid for her purchase and ran after him.

"OK, I know you don't like the commander," began Asuka.

"That's a given," remarked Kannami.

"But, I don't get why you don't want to be an Eva pilot," she continued. "I mean it's a huge honor!"

Kannami sighed and looked over his shoulder at Asuka, "Asuka, what's your job?"

Asuka wondered why he was asking that, but humored him nonetheless, "To pilot the Eva." She received a snort in response. "Hey!"

"Sorry, it's just that I asked that question to Ikari-kun a couple of days ago and you know what he said?" Asuka shook her head. "He told me that his job…his duty was to protect the innocent."

"Protect…the innocent?"

"Personally, I call it the bleeding heart philosophy of GekiJyuKen," said Kannami, "But if protecting people gives Ikari-kun his will to fight then I'm not complaining."

"So, he fights for others?" Asuka was confused. Nobody was that selfless.

"That was how he was raised. He puts others before himself. I guess you can call it noble, but I'd rather fight for myself and the people close to me than for some strangers I never met," stated Kannami honestly.

'_Fighting for others_…' Asuka thought. Was that why Shinji was so strong? Was that why he was so dedicated? Was that why he couldn't afford to fail because that would mean people would get hurt? She was getting a headache thinking about this stuff. Up until now she'd only piloted the Eva for the sake of piloting Eva, nothing more, but now she was learning about the Third Child and his motivations and wasn't sure what she was fighting for. '_Damn it_…'

"Oh, and Asuka?"

"Yeah?" questioned the redhead.

"If you dated me you could do a lot more than just look," smiled Kannami.

Asuka's face matched her hair.

* * *

Night rolled around and the five occupants were on their futons in the living room. Misato was snoring soundly with Shinji sleeping like he always did. Rei was cuddled up next to him. Asuka was slightly fitful while Kannami was still awake.

Sleep never did come easy for him. Not after all the crap he went through as a kid. He was still hit with nightmares now and then. The meditation he learned from Rio was helping sometimes, but meditation never came very easily to him. He was a man of action and sitting still never worked well with him. Then again, the memories weren't entirely painful. It was those memories that fueled his Rinki and gave him his power.

He dared a glance over at Shinji with Rei all but sleeping on top of him, '_Lucky bastard, getting a girl like her to cuddle up with him. Why do the GekiJyuKen guys get all the pretty ones?_'

Kannami suddenly felt something press against his side and was somewhat shocked to see Asuka curled up against him. Her arm was thrown over his chest and she was holding him tightly.

'_Well, isn't this interesting,_' Kannami almost chuckled. '_She's gonna kill me if she wakes up like this, but it will be SO worth it. Now if I can just get her to go on a date with me._'

* * *

"Why do have to wear these stupid things?" Kannami growled as he and the other three pilots waited in the hangers near the Evas. "What's the point?"

"Regular clothes can mess with the Synch scores," Ritsuko sighed, feeling like the kid was going to drive her to drink rather than just smoke.

Kannami was given a plug suit that was the same design as Shinji's, but it was mainly black with some red splashed in. It had the number 03 stamped on the chest. Ever since he had to put it on for testing in the Evas, he had been whining non-stop.

"Oh quit whining, baka-kuma," Shinji growled. "They're not bad."

"Says the guy with no fashion sense," Kannami frowned. "These things make us guys look like fruits. The girls on the other hand look hot. The clips are fine, but these suits serve no purpose!"

"What does it take to shut this kid up?" Ritsuko moaned, waning so desperately to take a cigarette.

"Haven't figured it out yet," Misato shrugged. "Best way to make him quiet down is get him to compete with Shinji over something."

"Great," Ritsuko groaned. The last thing she wanted was to have one of their fights breaking out near the Evas. She had heard the rumors of how the first one went. GekiWing and QuadraBeast Rukawa. "Kannami, just please get in Eva-02. The sooner you get this over with the sooner it ends."

"Whatever," Kannami sighed as he headed over for Eva-02.

"I'm surprised you're not throwing a fit about him being in your Eva," Misato commented to Asuka.

"Well, he's okay in my book," the fiery German shrugged. "He'd better not break anything or else there will be hell to pay."

"Don't worry about it, Asuka," said Kannami as he began entering the entry plug, "I'll treat this thing like my own baby." He gave the girl a wink which made her blush before the plug closed and slid into the Unit-02.

"OK," began Maya, "Everything seems to check out, sempai."

"Good," said Ritsuko. "Kannami, how are you doing?"

"_Would it kill you guys to use something that doesn't smell like blood?_" complained Kannami.

"The LCL is an important component that allows you to synch with the Eva. We can't help that it smells like blood," replied Ritsuko.

"_Yeah, no kidding_," remarked Kannami, "_OK, what do you want me to do?_"

"Just sit there and synch with the Eva," said Ritsuko.

"_OK,_" replied Kannami. "_Don't see much of a point. We all know I can do it._"

"What's the synch score?" asked Ritsuko.

"Well, he's up to 69," said Maya.

"Hm…that seems promising," said Ritsuko thoughtfully.

"Wasn't his synch score within the 90's area?" Maya asked.

"Guess it only goes up there under battle conditions," spoke Ritsuko.

Asuka seemed a bit apprehensive about someone else being in her Unit-02, but in the time she got to know Kannami she knew that she could trust the guy. From what she knew of RinJyuKen, it fed off pain and Kannami no doubt had scars in the past. How deep they were remained to be seen since he was like her and was reluctant to divulge anything about his past save for when he mentioned his JyuKen training. He never told her of anything prior to that time.

And…she felt drawn to him. He was a pretty strong guy. Maybe after this fight they could go on a date and see what would happen. Heck, she still had a crush on Kaji but her guardian obviously still had eyes for Misato. Shinji wasn't too bad either but she could still see how Shinji and Rei were growing close.

"_OK, is it okay to pump my Rinki into this baby?_" asked Kannami.

"Alright, but not too much," said Ritsuko. She wasn't familiar with Ki and probably never would. She was just going to have to go with the flow.

Kannami nodded and concentrated, allowing his Rinki to flow into the Eva. As soon as he did so, the synch score went up.

"Sempai, it went up to 98.4!" Maya reported.

Asuka wasn't surprised. Being able to control ones Ki definitely helped in synchronizing with an Eva.

"OK, Kannami, that's enough," said Ritsuko. "You can come out now."

"_About damn time,_" Kannami sighed._ "Now I need a nice long shower to get the smell of blood off of me. Care to join me, Asuka?_" asked Kannami in joking tone. This caused everyone to stare at the redhead who'd froze and whose face now matched her suit.

* * *

The day continued on after the testing. Asuka was reluctant to let Shinji and Rei into her Eva, but they didn't have much choice. Rei's synch was noticeably lower than when she was in her own Eva. Shinji had a near exact score to Kannami's. Of course, they got in another fight in the showers which spilled out into the halls, giving the women of NERV a free show. Misato had to shout at them silly to get them to stop.

Upon getting home, they dove into their training again. Kannami and Asuka took the machine while Rei and Shinji took the Bat-ken. Both were doing extremely well since Kannami and Asuka were getting perfect scores while Shinji and Rei were moving so perfectly, you would think one was the reflection of the other.

It looked good since the Angel would recover in one more day.

* * *

It was the day of battle and the pilots were at the Eva cages. Unit-00 was prepped up and ready. Kannami felt irritated that he had to once again wear the plug suit and complained, "Ikari-kun, how do you stop this thing from riding up?"

Shinji chuckled, "I try not to think about it."

Kannami frowned and said to Misato, "OK, Misato, why did I have to go train with them? It's not like I would be going into battle with them."

"Well, you're the backup pilot for Unit-02," explained Misato. "It's a precaution, just in case Asuka is unable to pilot."

Kannami gestured towards Asuka who was already ready and getting into Unit-02. "I don't think we're going to have a problem with that." He then walked over to where Asuka was. "Hey, Asuka?"

"Yeah?" Asuka looked towards the RinJyuKen artist.

"Good luck and…be careful out there," said Kannami.

"I'm always careful," said Asuka but then noticed the worried look on his face. "Why? Don't you trust me?"

"Just…don't die out there," he said before walking off.

"Rei, are you sure you're up for this?" Shinji asked.

"I will be fine, Shinji," said Rei reassuringly. "My Eva has been repaired and given some upgrades."

"Well, at least the new paintjob is easier on the eyes than that old orange color," said Shinji. Eva-00 was now blue instead of orange. It was a suggestion that Rei made. "And I love the new plug suit."

Shinji had told Rei that she looked good in blue, which she agreed, and she had requested for a new blue suit to match her Eva. It was like her old white suit except that it was completely blue. "Thank you, Shinji." She then wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "Be careful."

"You too," said Shinji.

"Man, I wish I was going with them," said Kannami.

"And who says you aren't?" Ritsuko said as she pointed to Unit-02.

"Huh?"


	13. The Meaning of TEAM

Asuka and Kannami were both in Unit-02. The entry plug had been modified to accommodate two pilots so there were two sets of controls now. Since the two could synch well together, it was the obvious choice. Kannami sat behind Asuka who was at the front.

"I didn't expect this," said Kannami.

"Just let me lead," said Asuka. She didn't feel like sharing her Eva, but there was little she could do. Orders were orders.

"Will do, babe," Kannami grinned.

While Ritsuko gave a long explanation as to how two pilots that could synch so well with 02 would make it work better, Kannami could guess the truth. They wanted 02 to be able to summon a RinBeast in case Shinji needed to call out a GekiBeast for 01.

"_Remember guys,_" Misato spoke through the communications. "_We need to do this right. Rei and Shinji are going to be at point. If either of them __goes__ down or Shinji has to summon one of those GekiBeasts, Kannami and Asuka will replace the other and continue the operation._"

"Boring," Asuka huffed.

"I'd rather it was you and me in separate Evas," Kannami grumbled. "At least that way we'd be able to fight."

"Yeah. Instead they pick the golden boy and the girl who has had just as much training and experience with him," Asuka huffed. "At least we're not completely on the sidelines."

"We're coming onto the Angel," Shinji called out to his fellow pilots.

The three Evas passed over a ridge and saw where the Angel had been holding itself up for nearly a week. As they got within seeing distance, the visibly thick AT-Field around the Angel was beginning to go down with the Angel beginning to get up.

"Here we go," Shinji sighed. "Rei, stick with me. Asuka, you and Rukawa-dono stay behind in case something happens. Hopefully we pull this off right."

"Roger," the three other pilots agreed.

"Oi! Ikari-kun! If you screw up, I'm kicking your ass later," warned Kannami.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," retorted Shinji.

"It's what I do," countered Kannami**.**

"_FOCUS!_" shouted Misato.

Kannami and Shinji were left to grumbling while Eva-01 and 00 stood before the Angel. The Angel seemed to look at each one in confusion, almost curiosity, before they lunged for an attack. 01 and 00 reacted quickly, grabbing the Angel's arms before planting a knee into the torso section. Both then pushed the Angel back before leaping forward and punching the core. Not enough to break it, but it was enough to stun the Angel. Pressing their advantage, 00 and 01 tackled the Angel, knocking it on its back. In perfect tandem, the progressive knives were unsheathed and aimed to pierce the core.

Before the attack could be completed, the Angel suddenly split up into its two smaller forms and unleashed a blast of power. The two Evas were hit at point blank, knocking the pilots silly and launching them away and allowing the pair to recover.

"OK, now it's our turn!" Asuka shouted as she made her Eva move forward. "Kannami, armor me up!"

Kannami knew what she desired and summoned up his Rinki before calling out, "Ringi: Shorai Jyu!"

The aura spread out was released by Unit-02 before taking form into the familiar RinLion. However, it wasn't alone. This time a smaller chameleon RinBeast also appeared.

"A chameleon?" Asuka gawked.

"JyuKen Busou!" Kannami called out.

Once more, RinLion broke up into its four components to form the torso armor and the sword. The RinChameleon jumped up and landed upon the Eva's left arm, hugging its arms and legs around the limb.

"OK, we're all set!" said Kannami. "I'll handle the Ringi and you make sure to keep us moving!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" grinned Asuka. She'd been itching to try out the sword. "COME TO MAMA!"

She targeted one of the Angels and slashed at it with the RinLion's tail sword. The other Angel went to help its twin, but got attacked by 00 and 01. Both Evas landed kicks into the core that sent it down.

"Shinji, maybe now it's time to use your GekiBeast," said Rei.

"I know," Shinji agreed. "Gekiwaza: Rai Rai Jyu! Come forth GekiElephant!"

The elephant GekiBeast trumpeted loudly as it was summoned.

"JyuKen Busou!" Shinji called and soon the elephant, like the lion, broke apart and combined with Eva-01 to form…"GEKIEVAELEPHANT-01, BURNING UP!"

Eva-01 spun the EleHammer above its head and then swung it at the Eva, sending it crashing to the ground. It picked itself up and fired a blast the Eva, only for the Eva's armor and AT-Field to defend it. Seeing that his opponent was still moving, he swung the EleHammer down, hard, upon its head.

"Hey, koumori-teme, let's finish this!" Kannami called.

"OK, baka-kuma!" Shinji shouted.

"Ringi: Ganji Gatame!" Kannami called and RinChameleon fired its tongue out. It tied around the two Angels and forced them together, side-by-side."

"First! Third!" called out Asuka, "Finish it now!"

Rei and Shinji got the signal and in unison the two Evas struck forward. The ball of the EleHammer crashed into one of the cores as Eva-00'S Prog-Knife impaled the second Angel's core. Both had hit simultaneously.

When the Evas withdrew their weapons, the two Angels toppled backwards and exploded.

"WOOHOO!" Asuka shouted. "OK, it wasn't me who finished those damn Angels off, but it's still good! They couldn't have won without my expertise." She was just massaging her ego, but she deserved to boast a little.

"You mean mine, don't ya, Red?" asked Kannami as he leaned over and placed a hand on her shoulder. She blushed at the contact but smiled back at him.

"We won," said Rei.

"And in record time too," added Shinji, "So, Misato, how's about that reward you promised us?"

Misato had promised to take the pilots out to dinner at a restaurant. It was just her way of motivating them.

* * *

"KAMPAI!"

The pilots clinked their glasses together while Misato and Ritsuko watched on. Misato had brought them all to a fancy restaurant where they could get foreign cuisine. It would deal a heavy blow to Misato's savings, but she wasn't too concerned about it. The pilots had deserved it.

"You paying," Ritsuko chuckled as she took a drag from her cigarette. "You don't hear that often."

"Oh zip it," Misato grinned. "They've earned it."

"So they did," Ritsuko nodded. "So, any ideas how we can get Kannami to stay and pilot?"

"Well, I guess if the commander keeps away and Shinji and Asuka stick around, it won't be hard," Misato grinned. "He's stuck to them like glue."

Ritsuko just laughed lightly at that. That was obvious considering how he flirted with Asuka and fought with Shinji.

"This is soooo good," Kannami grinned as he ate his steak.

"Sheesh, did I need this," Asuka sighed happily. "Japanese food can be so bland!"

"I don't get to eat in places like this often," Shinji grinned. He looked over to the remaining pilot. "Are you enjoying yourself Rei?"

Rei, who was eating a number of vegetarian dishes smiled to her friend, "Yes. Thank you for bringing me."

"Hey, you deserve to be here just like the rest of us, First," Asuka smirked while pointing her fork at Rei. "You helped bring that thing down. Well, with my help of course."

"Hey, who summoned RinLion and RinChameleon?" Kannami asked with fake indignation.

"Okay, okay, Kannami gave us some extra firepower I guess," Asuka sighed jokingly. "But it was thanks to my piloting skills that we used them."

"Sure, Asuka, whatever you say," said Shinji, with an amused smile and a roll of his eyes. She was still a bit arrogant, but at least she wasn't as much as a bitch as she was in the beginning.

"So, Kannami, planning on sticking around to pilot?" asked Ritsuko.

"Well, it was fun to pilot the Eva," said Kannami, "I'm just not happy with who I have to work for."

"I hear ya," agreed Shinji. "As much as I hate Pops, sometimes you just have to make sacrifices for the common good. Sure, I hate his guts, but I was taught to put the needs of others before my own."

Kannami always considered Shinji too selfless for his own good, but well Shinji was naturally a nice guy. That was the GekiJyuKen way.

"So, when do I get my own Eva?" Kannami asked eagerly.

"It's still getting ready," said Ritsuko, "So probably in a few months. In the meantime you and Asuka are piloting Eva-02."

"Oh, well, I can't complain about such cute company," said Kannami as he winked at Asuka.

Asuka wasn't sure how Kannami could push her buttons like that, but she enjoyed the attention nonetheless.

"Well, I'm still not a hundred percent on taking orders from him. I got a problem with following orders from someone willing to abandon their kid," said Kannami. "But hey, based on Shinji's company, Eva pilots get all the babes so I guess I'm in."

Shinji rolled his eyes in amusement as Misato and Ritsuko both sighed. Kannami was now part of NERV and would get all the privileges.

"So…can I call you Fourth now?" Asuka asked teasingly**.**

"That depends, you ready to go on a date yet?" retorted Kannami.

* * *

Several weeks had passed since the battle with the twin Angels and in class Hikari announced that the class was going to go to Okinawa for their annual class trip. It was suffice to say that Asuka was looking forward to it and Kannami was looking forward to Asuka in a bathing suit.

At lunch, the Pilots sat together as Asuka said, "Yeah, a vacation is definitely what we need."

"The sun, the surf, and cute girls in bathing suits…" Kannami grinned. "Life is good."

"Are you excited, Rei?" asked Shinji.

"I…don't know…" Rei answered.

"You've never been to the beach before, have you?"

"No, but I have seen one on television."

"Well, Rei, you're going to have some fun when we go to Okinawa! There's a lot of stuff to do there!" Asuka said excitedly.

Of course their plans were about to be derailed…

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN'T GO!" Asuka exploded. The First, Third and Fourth Child were also thinking similar thoughts.

"I mean, don't we deserve it?" added Kannami. "I mean after the tests, training and beating those freaky twin Angels?" Asuka nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, these are the commander's orders," said Misato apologetically. When the Pilots returned, Misato told them the bad news. They really weren't happy about it.

"And that bastard once again finds a way to screw with our lives," scoffed Kannami.

"This doesn't surprise me one bit," said Shinji.

Rei asked, "May we inquire why we aren't allowed to go to Okinawa?" She'd been looking forward to going with Shinji. She'd heard some girls talking about taking a moonlight stroll along the beach and that such an act would be considered…romantic. She'd looked it up and discovered the meaning and wondered if Shinji would've wanted to go with her.

"Well, he thinks that you may need to be put on stand by in case an Angel attacks," said Misato. "All four of you."

"This sucks, and I even got myself a new bathing suit," Asuka grumbled.

"Can I see it?" Kannami asked, grinning.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, you can just use the pool at NERV," suggested Misato.

* * *

At NERV, the pilots decided to take Misato's suggestion and hung out at the pool. It did little, however, to quell Kannami and Asuka's anger about being denied to go on the class trip. Shinji wasn't complaining anymore as he sat on a deck chair at pool side. Though he had a book in hand, his eyes were on Rei who was wearing her school bathing suit.

Kannami was sitting at poolside and staring at Asuka who was wearing the blood red bikini she'd wanted to wear at Okinawa. To him, her hotness level had gone up 5 more points.

Shinji got off his chair and went over to where Rei was sitting and sat down next to her. "So, are you upset that we can't go to Okinawa."

"A little," she admitted.

"How about we swim together? Maybe it'll take your mind off it."

Rei had learnt a lot from Shinji, about life and about how to live. It was simply amazing to learn of these new subjects and experiencing new sensations. No one had ever treated her so kindly unconditionally and she found that she liked the attention. "Alright, you may swim with me."

Kannami decided to take a dip and dove into the water to join Asuka. He swam after the redhead and when he reached her he complimented her, "You know, Red, that bikini REALLY looks good on you."

"Of course it does," Asuka replied, taking in his praise. She gasped when she felt his hands on her hips and blushed.

"How about we play 'Lifeguard'?" he suggested. "You can play the drown victim, and I can give you CPR?"

Asuka bonked him on the head, snickering, "Pervert," before swimming off.

"I love it when they play hard to get," said Kannami.

"Or maybe you're just too dense to realize that girls may not like you," retorted Shinji.

"Oh, she wants me, I can tell," added Kannami.

Kannami was just staring at Asuka. He really liked the girl, and was pretty sure that she liked him. Then again, he'd seen the way she looked at that Kaji guy. "Damn…guess she must be into older guys…" muttered Kannami.

The next few hours were filled with Shinji and Rei swimming together. Kannami and Asuka were busy amusing themselves lightly flirting with each others. It seemed that it had turned into a competition to the pair, seeing who would cave in to their hormones first. It was obvious since Asuka kept showing her cleavage and behind with lots of bending or jumping. Kannami more or less used his physique with the occasional grabbing of Asuka so she could feel his bare muscled chest.

* * *

"You pulled us up here for this?" Kannami asked as the pilots, ordered in by Ritsuko, stared at the image for a volcano.

"An Angel's in the volcano." Ritsuko sighed. Kannami's attitude was as grinding as ever. "A few hours ago, we received a faint Blue pattern from inside the volcano itself. Sending probes in, we found this…"

The image on the screen turned to some kind of egg or cocoon that was resting on a ledge inside the volcano. It was rather big and obviously an Angel. Still, this was a new take on the enemy they had been fighting.

"We think this one hasn't fully developed yet," Ritsuko explained. "So NERV is going to be making an attempt to capture this target rather than destroy it."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just waste the damn thing and be done with it?" Kannami questioned.

"True, but this is also a good chance to retrieve and study a live specimen," stated Ritsuko.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, a good Angel is a dead Angel," retorted Kannami.

"Part of me agrees with Rukawa-dono, but maybe this will help us understand the Angels better," Shinji added.

Kannami snorted.

"So, one of you has to go down there and retrieve the Angel," said Ritsuko.

"Oh! Me! Me! Me! I love diving!" Asuka volunteered vocally. "I'll do it!

"That's good since we were going to have you do it anyway," Ritsuko nodded. "You'll need a specialized plug suit for the head and your Eva will have to be outfitted with special equipment too. So get ready for it."

"No problem," Asuka grinned.

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY EVA?" Asuka's shriek echoed through the base.

In the hangers, Shinji and Kannami were trying not to laugh. Eva-02 had been outfitted I heat resistant equipment, but it looked like one big deep sea diving suit. There was a viewing port for the face, but the entire outfit made the Eva look kind of goofy.

"This is special D-type equipment," Ritsuko explained.

"But it's so…UGLY!" Asuka exclaimed.

Ritsuko sighed as she further explained, "Of course it does. It's designed for extreme depths and temperature, not a garden party."

Of course, that was nothing compared to the plug suit Asuka had to wear.

"So, the Eva's protected," said Kannami, "but what about Asuka? What do you got to protect her?"

"Oh, the plug suit she's wearing now has been specifically equipped to protect her while in the lava," Ritsuko said.

"How, exactly?" Asuka asked.

"Press the third button on your wrist."

Asuka looked at the button on her wrist, noticing a third button her old suit didn't have. "So what does this..." she pressed the button and her skin-tight suit, which had been hugging her curves very well, suddenly expanded like that child in Willie Wonka's factory. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" she suddenly shouted.

Kannami gawked and Shinji immediately exploded with uncontrollable laughter.

"NO! NONONONONONO!" Asuka wailed. "BAKA, STOP LAUGHING!" She looked close to crying from embarrassment.

"I'm…trying…" replied Shinji, as he struggled to breath and speak in mid-laughter. "But…that has got…to be…the most ridiculous…thing…I've…ever…seen!"

Rei's lips were curled in a smile.

"Oi, koumori-teme, you better stop laughing if you want to end up being fed through a straw," said Kannami in an even and cold voice. Shinji immediately fell silent at his sparring-partner's threat. That sort of tone was reserved for when Kannami really got angry. The hidden message was that Kannami didn't want his 'mate' to be further humiliated.

"So, will I be going with her?" asked Kannami.

"Unfortunately, we haven't had time to modify your plug suit," said Ritsuko.

"I won't need it," said Kannami.

"But-"

"Rinki Gaiso!" Kannami called out. In a flash of Rinki he was donned in his QuadraBeast Rukawa armor.

"This armor serves more than to make me look scary. It can protect me from immense heat," said Rukawa.

"Are you certain? Have you had it tested?" asked Ritsuko.

"It's a fact," stated Rukawa confidently. "I'm Red's partner and backup. There's no way I'm letting her go down in a volcano alone."

This was something Shinji had learnt about his friend over the years. He had enveloped himself in his training, to the point that on occasion he would behave similarly to the animals whose styles he trained in. This meant that, because of his infatuation with Asuka, he wouldn't let anything harm her, even if it would be painful to him.

"Well, if that armor of yours can stand up to the test," Ritsuko sighed. She would have preferred to test it but there was no time and there was no way they could convince Rukawa not to go. He was stuck to Asuka like glue. "Okay, Shinji is serving backup for this operation and Rei is on standby here until further notice."

"Right," the pilots nodded.


	14. Surprises

As the Evas were being moved out, the pairs of pilots were talking to each other. Asuka was busy sulking in her blown up outfit. Rukawa was next to her, tapping an armored finger against the rail.

"This is humiliating," she grumbled again. "Why do I have to look like a freaking balloon?"

"Well, look at it this way, I'd prefer you look a little like a balloon and be alive after then dressed normally and burnt to a cinder," Rukawa shrugged.

"Good point," Asuka nodded. "Still, thanks for not laughing at me, even if I probably look stupid."

"Ah, who cares what you're wearing," Rukawa snorted. "You're still hot and underneath it you've still got all those wonderful curves."

"Pervert," Asuka snorted.

"Don't believe me eh? Okay, I'll prove it to you," Rukawa laughed. He moved over to Asuka and wrapped his arms around her, bringing a shocked cry. He sank his hands into the stretchy material and found Asuka's waist. He took a moment to run his hands up and down her sides. "Yup, still as trim as I remember," he then moved to her hips. "Ah, those are the hips I remember in the pool. Yup it's all there and still feeling good."

"You perv," Asuka blushed, but not entirely in embarrassment. '_Hmmm, he's good with his hands._'

"Only with you Asuka," Rukawa chuckled. "Only with you."

Rei watched curiously as Rukawa flirted with Asuka and it made her feel a little envious. She herself wanted that sort of attention but not from Rukawa. The thought of him flirting with her like that was a little repulsive.

Her eyes went over to Shinji who was clad in his GekiWing suit, minus the helmet. She recalled a television show she'd seen. It was called a soap opera and she'd been riveted by the drama and plot. What really intrigued her were the romantic relationships.

As Shinji was getting himself ready for the mission, Rei tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes, Rei?"

"Excuse me," she said.

"Huh?" Shinji blinked. His eyes suddenly went wide when Rei leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

As a GekiJyuKen artist, Shinji had learnt how to expect the unexpected and to avoid any surprises that may come his way. If he sensed any danger, he could dodge or counter. This, however, was a huge surprise.

Rei pulled away, a faint blush on her cheeks as Shinji stared at her, eyes wide. He began to stammer, "R-R-R-R-Rei! W-w-w-what was that for?"

Rei smiled shyly and looked away. The sudden kiss hadn't gone unnoticed.

* * *

For the mission, Shinji would be positioned at the mouth of the volcano. Rei voiced her concerns regarding Shinji's position but he told her it would be fine. What worried him was Rukawa. In the past he remembered his friend having a problem with fire. Kannami would deny the whole thing and would not appreciate Shinji telling everyone he had issues with fire. Still, Shinji hoped that Kannami would come out of this alive with Asuka.

* * *

Eva-01 was positioned at the mouth of the volcano. The mecha was crouched down at the edge of the volcano's mouth. He had his senses focused to detect anything out of the ordinary. The whole volcano was rumbling, mildly from the active lava flow, but it was enough for GekiWing to sense the Angel. It was hard to pinpoint, and if the Angel was there, it was deep.

"Asuka, I just wanted to say good luck, and be careful," GekiWing said into his communicator and hoped that everything went as planned.

"Always, and thank you Shinji," Asuka replied while giving a rather large smile.

"Rukawa-dono, take care of her," GekiWing added.

"Don't worry, Ikari-kun," Rukawa told his friend. "She's safe with me."

'_I'm more worried about you_,' GekiWing thought.

"Start the operation!" commanded Misato.

The massive Eva-02 began its slow descent into the magma at Misato's orders. Ten minutes later, a computerized voice interrupted the silence. "Maximum safety depth reached."

"Asuka, can you see anything? Our calculations show that the Angel should be visible at your current position," Ritsuko stated.

"No, I can't see anything. It's like looking through tomato soup!" Asuka replied.

"It's to be expected. It's possible that the magma's current has moved the Angel larva to a different location than when the probe found it. Odds are that since you haven't seen it already, it's below you."

"But we can't send her too much deeper, Ritz," Misato stated. "The D-Type equipment was designed for this kind of thing, but even it's got limits."

Ritsuko sighed. "I hate to admit it, but you're right, Misato." She turned back to the communicator. "Asuka, the increase in pressure and temperature will keep doubling the further down you go. Do you want to continue?"

The response was to be expected.

"Of course I do! I haven't done my job yet." Asuka shouted back. At her request, the Eva started moving again. "Shiest it's hot!" she whined. She then began to hear heavy breathing coming from behind her. "Kannami, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Let's just continue with the mission," said Rukawa.

Suddenly the strap that was connected to the EVA's leg which held the Prog Knife snapped under the pressure and started to sink into the volcano's depths. Then the D-Type suit started to moan as it too showed signs of giving way.

"Asuka! The suit can't take much more! We're bringing you up now!" Misato said.

"Wait! I see something!" Asuka called out, the monitors seeing what she saw.

"That's it!" Ritsuko shouted. "Alright, use the electromagnetic cage to capture it!"

Asuka raised the beam pole slightly and effectively brought the rectangular case to encase the Angel larva in the barrier. The energy field powered on and the Angel was contained.

"Target captured. Beginning ascent!" she said with a sigh of relief as she pressed the 'up' button.

The crane started to haul her up, which only caused the Angel to wake up.

Somehow, GekiWing sensed it and quickly shouted at the Second Child and Fourth Child.

"THE ANGEL'S WAKING UP!" GekiWing shouted.

Asuka looked down and was shocked to see that the Angel was in fact moving. It started growing and then exploded out of the electromagnetic barrier. It started swimming around the lava, too fast for Asuka to get a bead on it. She gasped as she felt a sudden blow against her suit.

"Damn it! Where is it!?" Asuka shouted.

The impact blows kept coming, though Asuka could barely make out its shadow unless it was close to herself. The bulkiness of the D-Type Suit was making it hard for Asuka to move. To add insult to more injury, she couldn't fight back because her knife had been lost earlier.

"What am I going to do?" Asuka asked as the Angel opened its mouth and attacked her again. She then began to hear Rukawa's breathing getting heavier. "Kannami?"

"Get me out of here…GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!" Rukawa began to panic.

"Kannami, what's wrong!?" Asuka shouted.

'_Crap!_' GekiWing cursed in his mind. He should've known Kannami's fear of fire hadn't been conquered, but his friend was too prideful.

"Kannami, calm down!" Asuka shouted.

"IT'S HOT! TOO HOT! THE FIRE!" Rukawa shouted. The Eva's synch ratio was getting messed up with the RinJyuKen artist becoming panicked.

"What's wrong!?" Asuka exclaimed.

"Kannami can't stand extremely hot temperatures!" GekiWing shouted.

"What!?"

"I'll explain later! Right now you need to take the main controls!"

"OK!" Asuka transferred all controls to her. The Angel attacked again and she grunted. "Damn it!"

"Asuka! Use the coolant!" GekiWing suddenly called out.

"The coolant! But how?"

"Wait for it to get close, grab it, and then shove it into its mouth!"

Asuka reacted before she could have argued, ripping the hose loose from the harness and jammed it into the Angel's mouth as it attacked her from the front.

'_Perfect timing.' _

She released the controls and pressed the coolant pump button at her left. The below-zero coolant flowed into the single hose that had broken off from the other four, flushing it right into the Angel's mouth. Born in the molten lava of the volcano, the sub-zero coolant that had kept Asuka from being cooked alive was able to completely destroy it.

However, the battle had badly severed the harness, which broke under the extra stress and caused Asuka to descend back into the lava.

Asuka tried to think of a way to get out of this, but realized there was nothing she could do. '_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die,'_ she thought.

Rukawa could sense Asuka's distress and pushed his fears away. He couldn't let Asuka die because of his stupidity. Therefore, with a bit of Rinki being pumped through him he decided to lend a hand.

Suddenly, she felt a jerk on her Eva. It had stopped descending. "Huh?"

Outside, a pair of hawk-like wings had grown out of the Eva's wings and flapping hard to keep it aloft.

"Asuka, I've given the Eva wings. I'll fly us out of here," said Rukawa. The wings then carried the Eva up. Eva-01 grabbed the red unit's shoulders and pulled it the rest of the way out.

Rukawa passed out soon after.

* * *

"I think we deserved to know that he was afraid of tight spaces," Misato grumbled as she and Asuka lounged in the hot springs.

"I don't think it's that," Asuka retorted. "If that was the case, I don't think we could get him into an Eva in the first place. Remember Shinji said that he can't stand high temperatures?"

"Oh, right," Misato nodded in realization. "I guess his suit wasn't as suitable for this mission as he thought it was. Well, go figure."

Asuka didn't say anything, but she knew that wasn't the case. She saw Rukawa's reactions to the heat during the fight. It wasn't hurting him, it was scaring him shitless. Even though Asuka boasted about being so brave and amazing, she knew what it was like to be terrified. She learned it fast after dealing with her mother who went insane.

It didn't make her think less of him though. Maybe a little stupid for not telling them, but not any less of a fighter or a guy. In fact, it made her feel comfortable knowing that he wasn't some fighting machine and in fact, very human.

* * *

"Your phobia almost got you and Asuka killed today," Shinji sighed as he and Kannami were on the men's side of the hot springs.

"I don't need you rubbing my face in this," Kannami growled. "I thought with my suit and the Eva I wouldn't have to worry. Like just knowing I had all that space between me and the lava."

"A good decision, but when it looked like the Angel was going to cut through it all, you started to panic," Shinji replied. "I thought RinJyu Hawk-Ken turned fear and insecurity into anger for a power source?"

"It does, but this was the first time I had to deal it on such a level," Kannami sighed. "Shishi-jii had Kata-sama to deal with his, but I had to go through the real thing myself. God, Asuka must think I'm a total pansy now…"

"I wouldn't get too depressed over it," Shinji sighed. "Asuka…well, she respects strength but I doubt she's not afraid of anything. She's probably hiding her fears just like you do."

"You're just trying to make me feel better," Kannami frowned. "Besides, it's not as if you're having girl problems at the moment. Don't think I didn't notice that kiss Rei managed to get you with. The look on your face was priceless."

"Shut up!" Shinji snapped with a red face. "And you're any better?! I saw the moves you were putting on Asuka! You were practically molesting her!"

"She didn't complain," Kannami shrugged. "We both know her well enough that if she didn't like it, she would have belted me."

"True enough," Shinji nodded.

"You also know that the girls are across the barrier and probably heard us arguing about that," Kannami grinned. "I don't think Misato will leave you alone after hearing that Rei kissed you."

"Ugh," Shinji groaned.

* * *

"Molested you huh?" Misato grinned at the blushing Asuka. The two girl shad stopped their conversation when the boys started arguing.

"Shut up!" Asuka blushed. "He didn't touch me anywhere wrong! Just on my waist and my hips. It felt nice."

"It must have," Misato snickered. "But Rei finally taking the next step is priceless! He's not going to hear the end of this!"

"Ah, let Wondergirl do what she wants," Asuka huffed. "No skin off my nose."

"Sure, but do you think Kannami's a pansy now? He seems pretty embarrassed about what happened," Misato asked, voicing a bit of concern.

Asuka looked to her guardian and huffed, "Nah. He's no weakling. He just got scared. Nothing wrong with that. Used to happen to me all the time."

* * *

"I hate feeling so weak…" complained Kannami.

"She just said she didn't view you as a weakling," said Shinji.

"Doesn't matter. The fact remains that I freaked and almost got us both killed," retorted Kannami.

"Why are you afraid of fire anyways?" asked Shinji. Maybe if he found the root of the problem he could help.

"I got my reasons," stated Kannami bitterly. He felt a stain on his honor for being overwhelmed by fear and it disgusted him.

* * *

Once the pilots returned to Tokyo-3, Shinji was welcomed by Rei who hugged him.

"I am relieved that you are unharmed," she said to him. "I heard there were complications during the operation.

"Yes, there were," he confirmed as he hugged the girl back. A few questions were running through his head but the first one was something he needed answers for. He pulled back from her, his hands still on her waist as she held to his shoulders. "Rei, why did you kiss me on the lips earlier?"

"It is a token of affection," said Rei. Shinji had explained it to her.

"Yeah, but we've never kissed on the lips." That had to be his first kiss with a girl, ever. "What made you do it?"

"I saw it on television. It is how a man and a woman show their affection and…deeper feelings," she answered.

This stunned Shinji. "Rei…are you saying you're…in love with me?"

Rei removed her hands from his shoulders and placed them on her heart. "When you are near, my heart rate increases and I feel an odd yet pleasant warmth deep inside. I feel great concern for you when you go into battle, just like how you feel concern for me. I yearn to have you with me, to spend time with me, and to…care for me." She asked, "Is this what they call love?"

"I guess so," Shinji answered, unsure.

"Well, then may we please evaluate our relationship first before going further? Are we not friends or more?" Rei asked.

'_Boy, she's asking the tough ones, isn't she?_' Shinji mentally questioned himself. "Rei, listen, I care for you…a lot, but well, I can't really say how I really feel for you…" Rei seemed saddened by the reply. He continued, "But, what I can say is that I really, really, REALLY, like you and I want to see how this goes. So…how about you and I go and see a movie sometime?"

"By ourselves?" she asked hopefully.

"Just you and me," said Shinji. "Is that alright?"

"I do not object."

"So…I guess it's a date."

"A date?"

* * *

In the days since the operation, things seemed to be returning to normal for the city of Tokyo-3. People went about their business and even the pilots were enjoying some time off. Rei and Shinji were going on that date they had planned for while Asuka dragged Kannami with her clothes shopping stating that she needed a male opinion of what she was going to buy.

Shinji had Rei were steadily approaching the relationship level that all couples began at. It was a wide new world for Rei and one that she was very eager to explore. She enjoyed the activities she and Shinji went with. Actually, she just enjoyed being held by him or even being in contact with him. Likewise Shinji enjoyed the affectionate signs that Rei would give him. It was part of her charm that he enjoyed so much.

Kannami seemed to be a little apprehensive of being around Asuka, worried that she was just pitying him after the operation. Still, Asuka seemed to be more comfortable in Kannami's company. Perhaps it was because she was in his company more than Kaji's, which Kannami definitely didn't mind. Still, that feeling went away over time as Asuka kept dragging him everywhere since she couldn't do it to Kaji or Shinji.

As these two blossoming couples continued with their lives, they didn't know that someone was coming who would change them again. While the person hadn't arrived yet, he was very close.

* * *

"How much do you plan to buy?" Kannami asked as he hoisted another bag over his shoulder.

"As much as I feel like," Asuka shrugged as she passed over racks of blouses. "After that last mission, I need lots of shopping therapy."

"That was days ago though," Kannami grumbled.

"Hey, your wardrobe can never be too big!" Asuka grinned. "Besides, you need some new clothes too. All you wear is those black clothes and they look like you tore them up!"

"My training was rigorous," Kanami defended. "Not my fault my clothes can't seem to cut it sometimes."

"Well, you need some updated outfits," Asuka replied. "And I'm just the girl to get it. Besides, you get paid as a pilot. What do you do with it?"

"Junk food, video games, and my rent," Kannami grinned.

"Typical male," Asuka sighed. "Okay, that's it. We're getting you some new clothes too!"

"Great," Kannami grumbled. "So, any chance you'll be shopping for new underwear too?"

"Ohh, you'd like that wouldn't you, Fourth?" Asuka grinned. "See me in nothing but my panties. Dream on."

"A guy can dream," Kannami nodded. "Not like you probably didn't have the same thoughts about me."

"Urusei!" Asuka snapped with a red face.

As the pair was walking, they didn't notice the lights and other electronic equipment start to flicker before they shut down.

* * *

Shinji and Rei were in the middle of watching a movie. It was an odd Sci-Fi flick with a bit of romance in it. Rei seemed to be enjoying it for the plot and character development while Shinji liked the special effects and action. Of course, Rei especially enjoyed the feeling of Shinji being next to her and holding her hand.

Of course, what happened next would ruin the mood. All of a sudden the screen went completely black. Some of the audience yelled out in protest and began to complain. Shinji's eyes narrowed as he had the sinking suspicion that this was no normal blackout. He was about to be proven right.

* * *

The backup generators in NERV finally kicked in and it was fortunate they did. This was because of the Blue Pattern being detected heading into the city. It was an Angel!

"Contact the pilots!" ordered Misato.

"We can't! all communication lines have been cut!"

That did not bode well with Misato at all.

* * *

"Even the phones are out," Shinji sighed as he tried to get in contact with Misato and NERV. "Seems that everything is going out. Any ideas Rei?"

"In case of power outages such as this, procedure states to head straight to NERV for further orders," Rei answered. "Follow me. I know where there is a nearby emergency entrance."

"Lead the way," Shinji grinned.

* * *

"So…what do we do now?" Kannami asked as both he and Asuka noticed that all the electronic equipment had gone out.

"Figures," Asuka snorted. "Okay Fourth, we'd probably head to NERV to make sure someone didn't screw up."

"What if this is just some power outage? Happened all the time back home," Kannami argued.

"You don't know much about Tokyo-3 do you?" asked Asuka with an eyebrow raised. "It's nearly impossible for the power to go out. Most likely something is going bad and we had better be there."

"What about your stuff?" Kannami asked as he watched Asuka head off in the direction of a NERV entrance. He never bothered to memorize them all. Just the ones near his school, home, and the main entrance.

"Bring it!" Asuka called as she started running.

"Damn," Kannami hissed as he gave chase.

* * *

The young man slipped out the window of the disabled train. The power had apparently gone out. Luckily, the train had entered Tokyo-3 when it had gone down. Looking out at the city with no power, he noticed something approaching. It was powerful, enticingly so.

"This proves…interesting," the young man smirked.

Without hesitating in his stride, the young man began heading towards the city. As he walked, a golden aura began to leak from his body.

* * *

"Sempai! We're getting some strange readings!" Maya called from her station.

"Weird? Weird how?" asked Ritsuko as she went to her assistant's station.

"Well, we're getting a reading of something similar to what Shinji and Kannami give off when they use Geki or Rinki. It's different yet also the same," Maya tried to explain, bringing up the data on the readings.

"Dammit, this is all we need," Misato growled. "Get those kids down here ASAP!!"

* * *

Up above the blacked out city, the Angel was striding along on its legs. It looked like a giant daddy long legs with a gray body and eyes all over its torso. It legs were piercing buildings and destroying cars as it walked.

As it walked past, the Angel didn't notice someone standing atop a building. He was wearing a snake-skin jacket with an emerald stone on a string for a necklace. He had black jeans on and he was radiating a golden power. He looked to be the same age as Shinji and Kannami.

"So these are the so-called Angels," the young man spoke. "A fine challenge I suppose. _Gengi: Genki Gaiso!_"

Golden power solidified into armor which collided onto the young man's form. It was scaled like a snake's and covered his body. The knees were capped with snake heads, as were the shoulders and gauntlets. The chest had a snake head on the front and the helmet had a snake motif with a red visor. A white ponytail ran down the back of the helmet like a roman legionnaire. A red cape hung from the shoulders.

"_Gengi!_" the armored person continued. "_Toku Jyu! GenOrochi!_"

The golden aura of the figure exploded into the sky, creating the image. The main body was that of a snake, but it then split into eight heads. Each neck was capped with a hissing serpent head. All eight of them looked angry as the armored fighter fused with his summoned beast.

The Angel took notice of the giant hissing eight-headed snake which had appeared behind it. Reversing its direction, the Angel began to go after the beast.

* * *

The two couples had crossed paths when they saw the Angel. However, their arrival at NERV would have to wait.

"I don't believe it…" said Kannami as he stared at the giant Orochi which was battling the Angel.

"It can't be…" added Shinji as his eyes were transfixed on the sight.

"Shinji, what's wrong?" asked Rei, worried.

"Yeah, what is that thing?" asked Asuka.

"Nothing good," answered Shinji.

"The GenJyuKen are making a comeback," continued Kannami.

Within the GenOrochi, the space was similar to when the members of the GekiJyuKen or RinJyuKen would be within their beasts. However, instead of bones from the ground or lines in the background, pillars rose up, representing the mythical power that GenJyuKen possessed.

"Let me see this power you possess," the golden fighter spoke to the Angel as it got closer.

The Angel seemed to hear this before unleashing a streak of acid from one of its eyes. The GenOrochi, moving much faster than it looked, slithered out of the way. The acid just hit a building, eating away at it.

"Hmm, interesting," the golden fighter pondered. He then looked back to the Angel. "_Gengi: Hachi Hebi Ha!_"

All eight heads then fired streams of golden power which plowed into the Angel's AT field. The orange power seemed to hold up for a couple of seconds before it shattered. The power itself crashed against the Angel, knocking it onto its back. Its legs were thrashing in the air as it attempted to get itself back up.

"Pathetic," the golden fighter sighed. "_Gengi: Hachi Hebi Kiba!_"

The eight heads of the GenOrochi began to glow again. This time through, they began striking at the Angel with speeds that JSSDF attack planes would go at.

"Gen! Gen! Gen! Gen! Gen!" the golden fighter spoke as he punched forward, at the same time the GenOrochi heads would collide with the Angel's hide in blasts of golden energy.

Eventually, the Angel's thrashing stopped as the GenOrochi stopped its assault. As it came to a stop, the Angel exploded with chunks of its body falling onto the streets.

"GenOrochi, win," the golden fighter nodded as he saw his victory.

* * *

Asuka gawked as the Angel was destroyed so easily. "Who is that guy?" The GenOrochi began to fade away.

"We're about to find out," said Kannami. "Ikari-kun, let's go!"

"Right!" Shinji replied. The two went running off.

"Hey, wait for us!" Asuka yelled as she chased after the two JyuKen artists with Rei in tow.

* * *

"And I thought these Angels were supposed to be tough," said the golden fighter. "Heh, guess I wasted all my effort for nothing."

"Hey!"

"Hm?" The Orochi-Ken fighter saw two boys running towards him. He could sense their Ki. The Third Child and Fourth Child stopped.

"So, the rumors are true," the golden clad GenJyuKen artist spoke as he saw Kannami and Shinji standing across from him. "There are fellow JyuKen artists in this city."

"Hey, asshole!" Kannami snapped. "Don't lump us together with you GenJyu freaks!"

"That's right. The GekiJyuKen and the RinJyuKen are the true Beast Fists in this world," said Shinji.

"I don't doubt that," the GenJyu Orochi-Ken user replied, "But, still, GenJyuKen does have a place among them."

"No chance!" Kannami shot back.

"Tell us who you are!" Shinji demanded.

"Very well. The GenJyuKen will be revived by my power. GenJyu Orochi-Ken user, Yamato."

"Yamato?" Shinji and Kannami repeated.

"What, you expected a flashier name? I don't have need to use an alias, even in this form," retorted Yamato. "So, are you going to show me the stuff you're made of or just stand there?"

"Rinki Gaiso!"

"Beast On!"

GekiWing and QuadraBeast Rukawa now took the places of Shinji and Kannami.

"I see. So, that is how you wish to play it? Very well," said Yamato. He got into a stance. "Well, bring it on."

GekiWing and Rukawa charged straight for Yamato, roaring out loud.


	15. The Snake

Misato was already up in the city in her car. She and some Section 2 agents were out looking for the pilots who hadn't made an appearance. Even if the Angel was dead, they should still have reported in to see what they saw.

"Where did they go?" Misato scowled. "They had better not be on a double date somewhere."

"RO RO DAN!"

"GOYU KOHA!"

"OROCHI MUGEN HA!"

A loud explosion ripped through the air, bringing Misato to a stop in her tracks. Turning in the direction of the shouting, she spotted three blasts of orange, gold, and dark blue. Knowing from experience that Kannami and Shinji were involved, she sped towards the site of the actions.

Skidding to a stop, she spied Asuka and Rei hiding out behind a building. In the centre of a crater were three young men, two of which she knew. The last one she had never seen before. He was wearing a snake-skin jacket and jeans. He also had wild and unkempt blonde hair that was in a mess of spikes. In all, he looked like he was a punk in the same caliber of Kannami. All three seemed to have been knocked out.

"What happened here?" was all Misato could say.

"The fighter in gold was confronted by Shinji and Kannami," Rei answered, seeing Misato. "He called himself Yamato and he claimed to know GenJyuKen."

"Oh crap," Misato sighed. Another JyuKen user, and a particularly nasty one if what she had come to understand of the third style to be true. Pulling out her cellphone, she dialed in a number, contacting Section 2. "I found them. Get a recovery team here. We have a possible hostile with them so get a cell ready too."

"_Roger," _the agent at the other end confirmed. Misato then hung up and looked down at the three unconscious boys. This was shaping up to be one of those days.

* * *

When Yamato woke up he was looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. "Ugh…" he groaned. "Where am I?" When he tried to raise his hands to rub his eyes, he realized that his hands had been handcuffed to the bed rail flanking his hospital bed. "Oh…fuck."

"I've got some questions for you," spoke Misato sternly.

"And I suppose I have answers," Yamato shrugged. "I may or may not answer, but please feel free to ask."

"Who are you?" Misato asked simply. Rei had told her, but she wanted to know.

"Powered by the legendary serpent, I bow to no one," he answered. "GenJyu Orochi-Ken user, Yamato."

"Thought as much," Misato frowned. "Okay Yamato, why were you in Tokyo-3 during an Angel attack?"

"I wanted to fight the Angel," Yamato answered. "I thought that it would be a worthy opponent. I was sorely disappointed."

"Right," Misato growled with gritted teeth. All the money and strategy that went into building Evas just for fighting the Angels and this kid takes one down without breaking a sweat. "So why did you attack two of our pilots then?"

"They attacked me," Yamato answered. "I suspect it is because of the fighting style I employ, but I cannot fault them for it. GenJyuKen has a…dark, history."

GenJyuKen. Shinji had told her about the style. It was a Beast Fist style of misery and destruction. The way Shinji spoke of it, it was like the style was evil.

"Alright, so they attacked you, but still you've injured two of our Eva pilots," said Misato.

"Then get new ones," Yamato retorted evenly.

"It's not that simple!" she snapped.

Ignoring her yell, Yamato asked, "Speaking of those two, where are they now?"

* * *

"This…is humiliating," said Kannami.

"Tell me about it. I got an itch on my nose and I can't reach it," said Shinji.

Both boys were bandaged up. Shinji seemed to have gotten both his arms broken and Kannami's legs were both in casts. The two boys were holed up in the medical office while Ritsuko did some checks with Maya. Rei and Asuka would have been there, but they had to give reports of what the hell had happened.

"Damn, he broke my legs without trying," grumbled Kannami.

"Do you think we hurt him?" Shinji pondered.

"I fucking hope so," Kannami grumbled.

"Language!" Maya snapped at the boy, her morals overcoming the intimidation she felt from seeing the boys' fight.

"Yeah, yeah," Kannami grumbled.

"All in all, you boys are lucky," Ritsuko reported as she looked over her charts. "Simple fractures in your bones should heal quickly enough. Hopefully before the next Angel attack anyway. Other than that, I'd say you two are bedridden for a while."

"Perfect," Shinji sighed.

"Please tell me that asshole is in the same condition!" Kannami cried, earning another sharp glare from Maya.

"Unfortunately, no," Ritsuko sighed, knowing the boys' tempers will boil over at the news. "While you two did knock him out, whatever armor he was wearing was stronger than the ones you two use. He doesn't have a scratch on him."

"SHIT!" Kannami cursed loudly.

* * *

"SHIT!"

"It appears that Kannami is awake," Rei commented as she and Asuka headed down to the infirmary.

"Yeah," Asuka nodded. She was still a little stunned at seeing both of her fellow pilots get the stuffing kicked out of them by the gold guy. In truth, it scared her a little. She thought that Shinji and Kannami were crazy strong, but this guy blew them both out of the water. She just hoped she wouldn't have to deal with him in the future.

* * *

The young Yamato was relocated to an interrogation room after Ritsuko gave him a clean bill of health. Section 2 then took the stand and tried to use their 'magic' on him and make him squeal.

They never stood a chance.

Every interrogator in Section 2 had failed miserably. The boy just wouldn't crack. One interrogator had tried some physical interrogation techniques and got his arm broken in six places. He was still on painkillers in the infirmary with Shinji and Kannami asking for information before heckling him and calling the man a pansy. In fact, NERV learned nothing except what Misato had learned when she confronted the boy back in his bed.

"Is that kid made of stone or something?" Ritsuko gaped as she and Misato watched the latest interrogator leave the room in failure.

"I didn't have that much trouble with him," Misato blinked. "I'll try my hand again since these losers can't seem to get the job done."

"Just don't touch him," Ristuko warned. "I'm not looking forward to patching your arm like I had to that one guy."

"Right, right," Misato nodded. Inwardly, she was worried. Shinji and Kannami had reluctantly told her all about the GenJyuKen when Yamato was transferred. She had to know what she was getting into. Now though, she wished she hadn't.

"Hopefully he'll answer my questions," Misato spoke to herself. "God, I need a beer."

* * *

The commander was of course interested in the latest turn of events. At first Gendo assumed that his son was undefeatable, but that wasn't the case. In fact this Yamato person had dominated Shinji. Gendo would probably take this chance to get some control over his rebellious son.

"What do you plan to do with this boy?" Fuyutsuki asked, even though he could guess.

"He may be the key to controlling our more…chaotic pilots," Gendo answered.

"And how will you plan for him to do this?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"After the interrogation and the pilots have left, schedule the boy for a synch test," Gendo ordered. "Considering these JyuKen users and their reactions to the Evas, we may have another possible pilot."

"You do realize that his presence my spurn Shinji and Kannami to become stronger to the point where they can beat him," Fuyutsuki warned.

"True, but in the meantime, he is stronger than them and can put them down when they become disobedient," Gendo replied.

The question was how to gain that kind of control over him.

* * *

"Hello again," Yamato nodded as Misato walked into the room. "Are you here to interrogate me again?"

"Yes," Misato answered. She might have considered the strongman approach, but that failed utterly. Time to do it her way. Mutual respect and reasonable questions. "For the record, could you please tell me your name?"

"I am Yamato of the GenJyuKen school of martial arts," he answered. "I am a practitioner of Orochi-Ken."

"And what is your reason for coming to Tokyo-3?" Misato asked, knowing, but needing it for the sake of his rights and records.

"I heard that large monsters called Angels were attacking this city," Yamato answered plainly. "I wished to fight them."

"And how did you manage to do that?" asked Misato.

"I summoned my GenBeast and did it through that," Yamato shrugged. "It is like the GekiBeasts and the RinBeasts your other two pilots are capable of summoning."

"Noted," Misato nodded. "Okay, now there was an altercation between you and our two pilots. What happened to cause it? Do you know the two pilots?"

"GenJyuKen was once the enemy that GekiJyuKen and RinJyuKen strived to destroy since the former leader of the school wished to destroy human civilization with it."

"WHAT?" Misato gaped.

"I assume because of this history that your pilots fought me," Yamato shrugged. "They feared that I would be the same as that man. As for personal connections, I do not know either of them."

"Is there any indication that you'll do what the former leader of your school tried to do?" Misato pressed.

"Although that man and myself are from the same school we have very different ideals," Yamato frowned. "I wish to turn GenJyuKen into what a martial arts style should be. One to protect those who cannot protect themselves rather than crush people and harvest their misery."

Misato wasn't sure if she could believe that, but was willing to give this young man the benefit of the doubt. Still, with Shinji and Kannami bedridden, they were short of pilots. "You talk about protecting people but you still harmed the pilots."

"It was their own fault. They charged without thinking. They didn't think before they leapt. They just attacked without realizing the difference in our power."

That sounded like a case of self-defense to Misato. Considering the attitude of the two boys, she wasn't completely disbelieving of Yamato's tale either. She would have to question Asuka and Rei later to be sure though. In the meantime, she had a few more things to ask him.

"Where did you learn GenJyuKen?" Misato asked. "I was led to believe that the style was destroyed."

"I was trained by the leader before its destruction," Yamato explained. "His goal was to create a 'God of Destruction' out of his puppet. I was to be...plan B. However, I rejected his teachings and instead used GenJyuKen to try and stop him. Eventually he was defeated by the GekiJyuKen and RinJyuKen so I have been wandering ever since."

"Right," Misato frowned. "Okay, why have you been so cooperative with me when you stonewalled the other guys?"

"The walls have ears," Yamato replied. "If you would trust me to lean in close, I will whisper it to you."

Misato pondered it, but since she didn't have her gun or any kind of weapon beyond her car keys on her, she decided to take a risk. Leaning in closer to Yamato, he moved close next to her so that his lips were next to her ear

"You are a hime. Like the Yamata no Orochi, I too can recognize a kind soul that is covered by an equally beautiful face," Yamato explained. "You understand pain, torment, and fear that only few can. I understand it all too well. I am more comfortable around you because you understand."

Misato blushed. Yamato had basically described her as a princess. Though she'd been complimented on her looks before, none of those ever compared her to a princess. Of course this could be an attempt by Yamato to get into her good graces.

The door opened and a couple of Section 2 agents entered. "What do you want?" she demanded. "I'm busy."

"Commander Ikari has requested that the prisoner be taken to him at once," one of the agents said.

"Ah, a private audience," said Yamato. "Well, I did hope to see your leader while I'm here."

"Can't this wait?" Misato asked, frustrated.

"You know the commander hates to be kept waiting."

Misato scowled. She couldn't disobey orders. If she did she'd be charged with insubordination. Then who would protect the kids? "OK, fine…"

* * *

Rei and Asuka were allowed to visit Kannami and Shinji.

"And lookie here," said Kannami. "Our fave girls. Hey, Rei, why don't you give Shinji's boo-boos a kiss to make them feel better?"

"Of course," Rei nodded. She then walked over to Shinji and gently clasped his face. That was all the warning he got before Rei pressed her lips against his. The pair stayed like that for a moment before Rei pulled back. "Was that helpful?"

"Definitely," Shinji grinned.

"Shameless," Asuka scoffed, shaking her head at the pair.

"Ah who cares, let them be," Kannami shrugged. "Say, do you think I could ask you for a REALLY big favor?"

"Depends," Asuka answered with a suspicious look. "What is it?"

"Well, I think I've earned a sponge bath from that fight with the GenJyuKen asshole," Kannami grinned. "Do you think you could give me one using one of those tight nurse outfits?"

"You perv," Asuka growled, swatting Kannami on the head. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Hey, with someone like you, no way," Kannami laughed. "I take it the bath is out. Can I at least see you in the nurse outfit? It would make my day so much brighter!"

"I am not dressing up for you!" Asuka snapped.

"Oh come on! Haven't I earned at least that?" begged Kannami.

Shinji and Rei watched the resulting argument with their usual calm eye. To the casual observer it looked like Asuka was about to belt the boy, injuries or not, but to someone who could read body language, it was something different. Asuka had pride in her eyes that Kannami saw her in such an attractive way, and not like her drooling fanboys. She was also enjoying the verbal spars she had with Kannami when they happened. It meant he was always thinking and paying attention to what she said.

* * *

Few things worried Major - formerly Captain - Misato. She got used to the idea of working for an organization dedicated to fighting giant monsters with giant robots (Ritsuko just kept correcting her with some techno-babble that the Evas weren't 'robots' but Misato ignored her), but with the appearance of Shinji Ikari came many unexplained changes. His Geki, his fighting style, and abilities were unlike anything she'd ever seen. Of course then Kannami showed up and revealed more about the mysterious past Shinji had. Finally, this Yamato character who was the user of an ancient and potentially dangerous fighting style that allowed him to defeat an Angel singlehandedly had also arrived.

Were JyuKen artists drawn to each other? Was the urge to fight like a lure for them? Unfortunately, she couldn't find out anymore since Yamato was now in the commander's custody. What the commander wanted from Yamato was anybody's guess.

* * *

Yamato was shoved onto a chair. Once the handcuffs were removed he massaged his wrists. He looked about and then turned his attention to the man before him. "So, I'm guessing you're the brains this old outfit," said Yamato.

"I am Commander Gendo Ikari of NERV."

"NERV, the organization dedicated to fighting the Angels," said Yamato. "So far I'm not impressed."

Gendo resisted the urge to growl. Were all these…JyuKen artists so…disrespectful? First Shinji, then Kannami and now this fellow? Gendo was impressed by how this young boy managed to defeat an Angel on his own so he wanted to find out something, especially since Shinji and Kannami had been defeated by Yamato.

"You possess a similar fighting style to the Third and Fourth Children," Gendo commented.

"GenJyuKen," Yamato shrugged.

"It would be…preferable if you would lend your talents to NERV," Gendo stated again.

"What could you possibly have to offer me?" Yamato asked. "All I wish to do is fight the Angels and unlike you lot, I do not need an overpriced flesh puppet to do it. There is nothing you can offer me."

"I could order the Evas to attack you should you appear in that construct again," Gendo threatened.

"I doubt your two regular pilots would stand a chance if your two JyuKen trained pilots could not defeat me," Yamato retorted. "If you are trying to tempt me, you are doing a very poor show."

Gendo gritted his teeth. So far negotiating with this boy was proving difficult. Also, like Shinji and Kannami, this boy's past was shrouded in mystery. There was absolutely no paper trail on Yamato (if that was his real name).

"Listen, you do not want to cross me," threatened Gendo.

"That's MY line," Yamato retorted. "Face it, Commander, you got nothing to offer me or to hold me for. Even if you do try to hold me in a cell, I can just break out of this place and everyone in it."

"You wouldn't dare," challenged Gendo.

"Wouldn't I? Try me."

The two continued to glare at each other for a moment. Fuyutsuki wasn;t sure if it was going to come to blows, but this was the only chance Gendo had to bring control over the boys. However, this Yamato boy seemed to be as much a wild spirit as the other two. He might in fact strike first if Gendo pushed his luck.

As Yamato glared, he noticed a small picture frame. In it was a beautiful brunette with a bright smile on her face. She was in a wedding gown next to a man who was definitely a younger Gendo.

"Your wife I assume?" Yamato commented, making Gendo's gaze turn to the picture.

"Irrelevant. She died years ago," Gendo frowned. The growing anger in his eyes was unmistakable. He didn't like anyone looking at his Yui.

"Hnn," Yamato snorted. "A hime such as her didn't deserve to be chained to a monster like you."

The angry glare in Gendo's eyes intensified. '_How dare he! How dare he say that about me and Yui! He has no right!_'

"You know, I'm surprised Shinji Ikari is your son," said Yamato. He'd learnt Shinji's name in the fight and it wasn't difficult to deduce Gendo and Shinji's rather strained relationship. "I mean there's an old saying: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Of course, from what I can see of his character from our battle, he and you are NOTHING alike. I guess he must've taken after his mother."

Gendo remained silent and composed, but he was raging in his mind. Yamato was definitely a wild card that had to be dealt with, one way or another.

"So unless you got something to offer me then I can be on my way," said Yamato cockily. "Or…I can tear this place apart, piece by piece."

"You may leave," Gendo frowned. "But rest assured that we WILL be speaking again."

"If you can find me," Yamato smirked. "We of the GenJyuKen have ways of vanishing when we do not want to be found."

"There is nowhere you can go that we cannot find you," Gendo retorted.

"We shall see," Yamato snickered before he turned and left the office.

* * *

"So, I see you met the commander," said Misato as she caught sight of Yamato with two Section 2 agents flanking him.

"I was about to leave anyway," said Yamato.

"And we were assigned to escort him out," said one of the agents.

"Don't bother, I'll do it," Misato volunteered.

"But-"

"Who's the major here?"

"You are, ma'am."

"Good, now go." The two Section 2 agents left the two alone. "Come on, follow me," ordered Misato.

"Where?"

* * *

Shinji and Kannami still had Rei and Asuka with them. Rei was helping Shinji eat some soup since his hands were useless. Asuka was doing the same for Kannami who was enjoying the attention. When the door opened and both Misato and Yamato came in, the two bedridden boys nearly leapt out of their beds.

"YOU!" Shinji and Kannami roared, startling Asuka and Rei. Asuka was pissed as well while Rei looked a bit indifferent. However, there was some hostility in her eyes. This young man had harmed Shinji.

"How's everyone doing?" asked Misato, hoping to ease the tension.

"What the fuck is this asshole doing here?" demanded Kannami.

"Such language and anger. No wonder you're part of the RinJyuKen," said Yamato, dismissing Kannami's anger.

"Misato, why is he here?" Shinji asked politely, or as politely as possible.

Yamato answered, "I've come to apologize for breaking your limbs, of course."

"Save it," Kannami snapped.

Yamato's eyes narrowed. "Look, you both attacked ME first. I was just minding my own business when you showed up. I had every right to defend myself…even if I did go overboard."

"Ya think?" muttered Asuka.

"Still, I wish to make amends, somehow," said Yamato.

"Go to hell," Kannami shot back.

"Confrontational, isn't he?" Yamato asked Misato.

"Yup, he is," confirmed Misato. "However, it seems to be perfect for his school though."

"Indeed," Yamato nodded. "Look, I don't care if you believe me or not, but I am sorry about what happened. However, I can't change the fact that I broke bones. If I could I'd use a healing Gengi to help, but since my school doesn't have those I can't."

"Yeah, we've seen the history," Shinji muttered.

"Then you know," Yamato nodded. "Besides, can you two really complain since you're being tended to by two beautiful girls? I dare say they're himes like the Major here."

All three girls blushed. However, Asuka didn't take it as worth much and Rei while acknowledging the compliment, would have preferred to hear it from Shinji. Misato just pretended not to hear it but still blushed all the same.

"Don't flirt with my girl," Kannami growled.

"YOUR girl?" Asuka asked with a slight frown.

"Just an observation," Yamato shrugged. "Can't get mad at me about that."

"Watch me," Shinji frowned.

"Shinji, please remember that you are healing," Rei spoke, resting her hand on Shinji's shoulder.

Yamato watched how Asuka silenced Kannami and Rei calmed Shinji. Sure enough, it seemed that a hime could calm any savage beast. It was very similar to how the princess of legend could calm the Orochi he based his fighting style off of. Well, the women in the room were definite himes to him. They understood what pain and fear was.

"So, are you going to be sticking around?" asked Misato.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Yamato. "The Angels aren't very powerful opponents from what I can see so its best I move on to find other challenges…and maybe a hime of my own." He gave a salute and said, "Ciao."

And with that he was gone…or so they thought.

* * *

No Angels attacked for the weeks Shinji and Kannami needed to heal. Toji and Kensuke did come to visit while Hikari brought back their homework assignments and notes. They had no reason to be behind in their schoolwork. Kannami at least could use his hands and Shinji needed Rei to be his hands. Asuka helped Kannami with his homework but he was going to be the one to figure it all out.

After the two pilots had their casts removed and their bodies examined, they were allowed to leave. Fortunately, the two healed fast and their bones had mended within the period of time.

At school, Kannami and Shinji were bombarded with questions for their schoolmates. When the teacher came in all activity ceased. "Today, class, we have a new student."

Said student came in. The Eva pilots' eyes widened as they saw who it was.

"Hello, I'm Yamato Hebi. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"YOU!" both Kannami and Shinji roared as they stood up, pointing at the new student.

"Ikari! Rukawa! Buckets!" the teacher called to the two enraged students.


	16. True Happiness

Toji and Kensuke were both wondering about the new guy, Yamato. As soon as he walked into the class, both Shinji and Kannami suddenly got pissed off and were given bucket duty by the teacher. Now, since class was over and thus bucket duty being over as well, Shinji and Kannami were ready to dish out some punishment. Yamato, uncaring about the death glares he was receiving, was leaning back against his chair with his feet up on the desk, whistling a tune.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kannami demanded. Yamato cracked an eye open. "Well?"

"That's…a secret," said Yamato.

Kannami lunged angrily but was held back by Shinji, Toji and Kensuke. Unfortunately, that barely stopped his charge at Yamato.

"Kannami, behave!" shouted Hikari. "Now, explain yourself!"

"That asshole broke my legs!" Kannami snapped. "I'm gonna kick his ass!"

"The result will be the same," Yamato answered dully. "You need more training."

"BASTARD!" Kannami bellowed. He tried for another lunge but the three students managed to keep him from doing so as they held him back. If it was Shinji and Kannami they would have let it happen. But if the new kid could break Kannami's legs, then they weren't so eager to see another fight.

"Let it go, Rukawa-dono!" Shinji cried as he, Toji, and Kensuke held the RinJyuKen user back. "He'll just fight us again and I'm not sure we'll win!"

"I'll kill him!" Kannami growled. "No one makes me look like and idiot! No one!"

"Especially not in front of your redheaded German love interest?" Yamato teased.

"DIE!" Kannami roared in embarrassment and rage, breaking free of the three.

* * *

Rei and Asuka were walking up to the classroom after delivering something for Hikari. Asuka was attempting to teach Rei the fine science of shopping, but Rei was having a hard time grasping the concept. She had school uniforms, her swim suit, some comfortable pieces of clothing thanks to Misato, and her plug suit. What further clothing did she need?

Suddenly, the wall in front of their classroom seemed to explode as something crashed through it and hit the opposite side. With the dust clearing, both girls could see that it was Kannami who had been thrown and Shinji was pinned beneath him.

"Honestly!" Asuka huffed, getting over her shock. "Can't you two even be in the same room with that Yamato guy and not pick a fight with him?"

"Rukawa-dono…started it," Shinji groaned as both young men fell from the wall. "I got caught in the crossfire."

"No excuses!" Asuka frowned. "Misato told you guys not to pick a fight with him! Now you're gonna have to deal with me!"

"Sounds better than dealing with Hebi-teme in there," Kannami groaned.

"You'll wish you were," Asuka smirked as she pulled Kannami up to his feet by his ear. A wicked idea came to her. "You and Shinji are taking me and Rei power shopping…on your dime!"

"HUH?" Kannami gaped, snapping to attention. "But-but-but! I already took you shopping a few days ago!"

"Well Rei needs a new wardrobe and there's more that just clothes out there to buy," Asuka smirked. "Now be a man and take your punishment!"

Inside the classroom with the students gaping at what they had seen, Yamato was sitting back down, "Ah, women. A force that can be more terrifying that even the mightiest of the GenJyuKen."

* * *

"I really, really, REALLY hate that guy," said Kannami as he dragged along shopping bags.

"Be grateful we didn't get suspended," said Shinji. He was carrying boxes.

"Aw…shut up!" He added, "Geez, why do women need so many outfits?"

"It's the same way with shoes," added Shinji. "Why do they need so many shoes?"

"We can hear you, y'know," spoke Asuka who was in front with Rei. "Now, be good pack mules and shut up."

"If you weren't a hot babe I would so kick your ass, Asuka," growled Kannami.

"This is punishment for picking fights, Fourth**;** now take it like a man."

Misato had been pissed to hear that Kannami and Shinji started another fight with Yamato. When she got the damage estimate, she was even more livid. She couldn't do much about it with Kannami since she wasn't his guardian and Shinji had been trying to stop the fight but got caught in the crossfire. Of course, hearing what Asuka planned and how much both boys hated being pack mules, she decided that it would be punishment enough.

The group had spent what felt like hours searching different stores as Asuka used Rei as a personal dress-up doll. Asuka would critique styles and such before buying a dozens of outfits for the both of them. Of course, the German girl made sure that Kannami got extra punishment by buying some new earrings for herself. He had been saving that money for video games he wanted to get.

While Kannami was crying over the game he was never going to get for a while, Shinji sat his boxes down for a break, "Do you think you'll wear these Rei?"

"Perhaps," Rei replied. "I had noticed that you enjoyed seeing me in such outfits. I believe I will wear them more often."

"Uh…great," Shinji blinked. "But are they comfortable to you? Do you enjoy wearing them?"

"Yes, it's a strange feeling but not unpleasant," said Rei. "I also enjoy how you look at me whenever I try them on."

Shinji blushed at her answer. He had to admit that Asuka's selections for Rei had been…attractive. Rei was a unique beauty and someone Shinji could imagine being his girlfriend. They'd gone on a few dates and shared a few kisses, of course, but nothing official yet. Still, he wanted to tell her that…

"Say Rei, think we can find someplace private to talk?" Shinji asked, feeling nervous. Rei nodded and the pair walked to a more secluded space of the mall where not as many people went.

"Why did you wish to be here?" asked Rei.

"To say something I don't want everyone to overhear," Shinji answered. "Rei…when we came back from the mission to the volcano, you wanted to know the status of our relationship. Well, here's what I think. I think you're a beautiful girl who is special in so many ways I can't count them all. I…I would really like to move our relationship up and see if we can find the kind of love people desire since I think I'm falling for you."

"Shinji," Rei whispered. She felt a rising positive feeling in her chest.

"I guess I'm asking…will you please be my girlfriend?" Shinji managed to ask with a red face.

"Shinji…I…I want… to be…yours…" Rei managed to get out. She was crying again and also hiccuping as she talked which Shinji thought was adorable. "I'm crying -hic- but not sad –hic- why?"

"That's because you're happy," Shinji grinned. "It sometimes happens when you become too happy for words."

"I am…happy," Rei sobbed. She lunged at Shinji and wrapped her arms around him. "I am happy. I have a boyfriend. Shinji is my boyfriend."

Around a corner, Asuka and Kannami were watching the whole exchange as well as Rei's happy tears.

"About time," Asuka huffed. "They were dancing around each other for so damn long."

"Yeah," Kannami nodded. He then grinned. "So what are my odds of getting that far with you?"

Asuka blushed and elbowed him in the gut. Kannami grunted in pain, but the grin didn't leave his face. Of course Asuka wasn't about to admit that his chances were getting quite good. Oh sure, he would do something dumb now and then, but guys did that. At least Kannami was good at making up for it. He also knew exactly how to get on her good side besides buying her things.

"Come on, let's leave those two alone. I'm hungry and you're gonna buy me something to eat," said Asuka.

"OK, OK." Kannami followed. The two pilots of Unit-02 missed seeing Shinji and Rei kissing.

* * *

"This is disturbing," said Gendo as he viewed the footage of Shinji and Rei together. "The boy is ruinning my plans as we speak and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Gendo was caught in a fix. From the observations he made of the boy, he could tell that his awareness was higher than the average human. If one of Section 2 got too close, he would be able to sense them and lose them easily. His martial arts skills allowed him to project energy from his body and he had somehow managed to influence Rei to the point where she accepted her emotions. Normally Gendo would just have her replaced, but he suspected that if he did, then Shinji, Kannami, and Yamato would be able to tell the difference. Judging by Rei's attitude now, almost anyone would.

He wanted to blame Ritsuko for it, but how would she know? She and Rei had a…strained connection probably due to her interaction with the late Naoko Akagi. Ritsuko probably wouldn't care to notice if Rei smiled or some other trivial fact.

"Replacement is not an option and we can't use leverage on the boy either," Fuyutsuki commented. "His past is a mystery and the only two connections are Kannami and Yamato, neither of which are going to be willing to cooperate."

Gendo had to concede that fact. Kannami was equal in skill to Shinji but Yamato was a level above them both. Strong-arm tactics wouldn't work and their pasts were just a big a mystery as Shinji. No, he would have to be subtle about this.

"I want surveillance on the boys to continue," Gendo ordered. "See where they go, what they do, and how they do it. Perhaps they will give us a clue."

* * *

Shinji couldn't sleep that night. Why? Well his mind was going over and over the events of the day.

'_I have a girlfriend! I have a girlfriend! I have a girlfriend!_' And, '_Rei is my girlfriend! Rei is my girlfriend! Rei is my girlfriend!_' were the only thoughts he could process at the moment.

It was like a dream come true and he didn't want to wake up.

Kensuke and Toji were not going to believe this. Heck, the entire class wouldn't believe this.

Shinji heard his door being pushed open and sat up on his hunches to see who it was. His eyes widened when he saw Rei, standing at his doorway, with a long night shirt and holding a pillow and blanket.

"Rei, what are you doing here?" he asked his girlfriend.

"I couldn't sleep," she told him. "Pilot Souryu was snoring too loud."

Shinji nodded. He'd heard her snoring from time to time. She would strongly deny it if asked though and shift the blame to Misato instead.

"So, you wish to sleep with me?" he asked, blushing a little.

"If I may," she answered, blushing too.

"Close the door behind you and lie down."

"Thank you, Shinji."

* * *

When Shinji and Rei walked into class the next day with Asuka, their classmates were whispering about how close the two were standing together and also since Rei was holding hands with Shinji. It was obvious the two were pretty close. They've hugged a few times and always spent time together. There were rumors that the two were dating.

"Sooo, you two sure look cozy," Kensuke grinned. "Did anything happen to you two yesterday?"

"Shinji-kun became my boyfriend yesterday," Rei answered.

All action in the room stopped. All eyes were on the pair. Save for Asuka, Yamato, and Kannami, everyone else was gaping. Toji was the first to snap out of it as he confronted the couple with a question.

"Rei, this is very important," he spoke seriously. "Did he ask you to be his girlfriend or did you just decide to start calling him that?"

"Shinji-kun asked to be my boyfriend yesterday," Rei confirmed.

"I'M RICH!" both Toji and Kensuke cheered. "YAHOOO!"

"NOOOO!" several girls screamed out. More boys just grumbled and began pulling money out of their pockets.

"Was someone betting on us?" asked Shinji with a frown.

"More like the entire class was!" Kensuke laughed as he and Toji began collecting money. "We were betting on when you'd end up together. Me and Toji bet on this week. Everyone else was betting on a month from now. The girls were betting for not at all."

"You've made us rich!" Toji grinned as he got the last of the payout.

"Geez, thanks." Shinji rolled his eyes. He then decided to take a page out of Kannami's play book. "You better give me a 10 percent cut." He cracked his knuckles for emphasis. Toji and Kensuke gulped.

"S-Sure, Shinji," stammered Kensuke. Shinji smiled. On impulse, Rei kissed Shinji on the lips.

"Woah," Toji gaped. "Hey, Rei, I didn't know you were that far in your relationship already."

"I noticed that some people did not believe us," Rei stated, referring to several girls who were watching the pair. "I believe that I have sufficiently provided proof."

"So have you slept with him yet?" Kensuke grinned mischievously, making the people in the room blush on certain levels.

Now, what Kensuke meant was sex. Not too surprising since people their age were crazy about it on some level or another. Of course, Rei was not well-versed in slang terms and thus took the question at face value.

"I have slept with Shinji from time to time ever since I moved into the Katsuragi residence," Rei answered simply.

Dead…Silence.

Shinji held an expression of horror as he saw everyone's eyes on him and Rei. Rei was oblivious to the stares, however, content with holding onto Shinji.

Then Kannami started laughing before he dropped to the floor, rolling from side to side.

"You are my HERO!" Kensuke exclaimed.

"NOTHING HAPPENED!" Shinji shot back.

"Yes, we only slept together in the same bed," confirmed Rei. Shinji was mortified.

"Rei, come here," said Asuka as he pulled Rei away. The blue-haired girl watched helplessly as her boyfriend was being bombarded with odd yet embarrassing questions. "OK, when Kensuke meant by sleep together…he meant if you and Shinji have…had sex."

"Sex? As in intercourse?" Rei questioned.

"Yes…that," nodded Asuka, blushing at how unfazed Rei was.

"Then we have not done so."

"So, when you meant sleep together, you meant by literally that you slept together, right?" Rei nodded. "OK, that clears things up."

People were bombarding Shinji relentlessly, much to his embarrassment. Yamato seemed to be indifferent to what was happening, which was a small mercy. However, Kannami thought this was the funniest thing in the world. He was still laughing and rolling on the ground. Finally, Hikari decided that enough was enough and took charge.

"EVERYBODY SIT DOWN!" she shouted so that everyone could hear her. Her blood pressure just wasn't helping since all the craziness began.

* * *

"An Angel? In orbit?" questioned Kannami. "And it's HOW big?"

"Take a look," said Ritsuko as she pointed at the display screen. "Our satellites detected this several hours ago and the MAGI confirmed it to be an Angel."

The pilots had been pulled out of school and summoned to NERV. It was an emergency, as Ritsuko called it.

"OK, that is a BIG Angel," said Asuka, gawking at the sheer size of it. It has an elongated body, with three eye-like markings (one in the center and one on either end of the body), and three stem-like growths projecting radially at both ends.

"I guess it's too much to hope that it's really just a hunk of space rock?" questioned Shinji.

"Didn't I say the MAGI have confirmed it?" Ritsuko stated.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Kannami asked.

"Well, based on the Angel's course, it will crash into Earth," said Ritsuko.

"CRASH!" Asuka, Shinji and Kannami exclaimed.

"Where exactly is this Meteor Angel going to crash?" asked Shinji.

"Not sure, but it has already dropped several fragments of itself," said Ritsuko. She showed several satellite images of large craters.

"And if that thing crashes…" began Shinji.

"We're looking at a disaster that could be compared only to 2nd Impact itself," finished Ritsuko.

"Please tell me you guys have thought of a way to stop it," Kannami gaped.

"We do have a plan," Ritsuko nodded. "We're currently trying to figure out where it is going to land, but that will take a while. However, what we plan is to have the Evas position themselves in its flight path and have them stop it with their AT fields. When the Angel's own field is down, they can destroy it."

"You want us to catch a flaming meteor Angel," Asuka blinked. "That's insane! I mean, we don't know where it's going to hit and we don't even know if we can get there fast enough. Besides, are the Evas tough enough for this?"

"They'll have to be," Misato frowned. "Otherwise we're all toast."

"So where's commander doom at a time like this?" Kannami asked. The elder Ikari had been rather rare to see as of late.

"Antarctica," Ritsuko replied. "Classified information though."

"Hmm," Shinji pondered. His old man and his lapdog were gone and some backup would definitely be appreciated. An idea was forming in his head. "Hey, I think I might have some people who can really help us out."

"Huh?" Misato and Ritsuko blinked.

* * *

Shinji, when alone, took out his cell phone. He was given the phone to tell his family back home about what he was doing. They were worried sick for him, but still proud of him for risking his life to protect the Earth.

"OK, this is gonna be the biggest emergency call I've ever made," Shinji told himself. "Hopefully everyone's ready for something like this." Activating the phone, he began punching in numbers before he held it to his ear.

"Hello?" asked a male voice.

"Hi, Gou-sempai! It's Shinji," Shinji greeted.

"_Shinji? Oh man, it's been too long since your last call_," Gou laughed on the other end. "_We're all wondering what's been happening with_ _you lately._"

"Well, it's not good right now," Shinji sighed. "In fact, I think some backup would be pretty good."

"_Just tell us when and where_," Gou answered, turning serious.

"Tokyo-3," Shinji answered. "Try to bring Rio-dono and Mele-dono too. No doubt they're worried about Rukawa-dono too. I'll give you specifics when they get to me, but let me tell you what I do know."

Shinji told his sempai the entire situation. He received a grim reply, "_I see…_"

"Yes, that's why I need help."

"_You can count on us, Shinji_." Gou then asked, "_By the way, have you found a girlfriend yet?_"

Shinji blushed as he thought about Rei, the beautiful girl, as his girlfriend. He told Gou about her, "As a matter of fact…" Shinji gave his sempai a brief explanation of how he met Rei, befriended her, and was now dating her.

"_I see. Well, take good care of the girl. If anyone is good for_ _her it's you_."

"Arigatou, sempai."

"_Don't sweat it, Shinji. What's family for?_"


	17. Family

Ritsuko and the tech department finally figured out where the Angel was going to land, but it was only estimated to a certain area. Unfortunately, that was still a pretty big area. It was rather close to Tokyo-3 too, meaning that the city would be leveled when the Angel hit the dirt. That would make whatever it came for easy pickings for the Angel if it survived it would be able to get it. Otherwise the next Angel would have the easiest run of them all.

"Anything yet?" Shinji asked as he kept an eye on the skies.

"_Nothing,_" Rei answered.

"_Nothing for us either,_" Asuka answered as she and Kannami searched.

"_The Angel is still in orbit and should be making downfall soon_," Misato reported. "_Once we have more specifics, we'll send them to you._"

"Waiting for it," Shinji sighed. '_When are Gou-sempai and the others going to get here?_'

While he put on a brave face, Shinji was scared. This Angel, the biggest he would ever face, was capable of leveling an entire city. He could imagine how many lives would be lost if he failed. Fortunately, he had his comrades to assist him. Asuka and Kannami were in Unit-02 and Rei was in Unit-00. He was also expecting help.

Earlier, Shinji suggested that he and Kannami equip the Evas with some fliers. Shinji could summon GekiBat and Kannami could summon RinHawk. They could equip those fliers onto the Evas and fly up and catch the Eva as it descended. His suggestion was approved by Misato, despite Ritsuko's reservations about it.

Shinji was just thinking about something that happened the night before…

* * *

_Shinji stood at the balcony of Misato's apartment. Asuka and his guardian were fast asleep and he thought Rei was too. However, when he believed himself to be alone, he sensed a familiar and calm presence._

"_Rei," he said as she came and stood beside him._

"_Shinji," she replied._

"_What are you doing up?" he asked._

"_I went to your room and you weren't there," she answered. Though she shared a room with Asuka, she preferred to sleep next to Shinji. His warmth was what she loved the best about sleeping with him. "You should be in bed. Tomorrow we have a mission."_

"_Just watching the stars," he said. "Can't believe that one of them is going to kill us."_

"_A star? But it's an Angel," she said._

"_It's a figure of speech," he said._

"_Something troubles you," she said._

"_I'm just worried that something is gonna go wrong. The whole city, heck the world, is counting on us. We're just a bunch of kids and yet we have a huge responsibility. Normal kids don't have to worry about all that. Normal kids have families, have fun with friends, and goof off. We…" he gave a sigh._

"_It's our duty," she said. _

"_I know, and I know I have to do it," she said. "Doesn't make the feelings go away."_

"_Then, this shall help," she said. She took his face in her hands and pulled him towards her to press her lips against his in a loving kiss. Shinji kissed back, slowly, relaxing. All his anxieties just seemed to vanish with that kiss. Reluctantly, Rei broke the kiss. She had loved the sensation and wanted more, but they did need to breathe and both of them were flushed, catching their breaths. It had been an intense kiss._

"_Wow, you really know how to help a guy relax," said Shinji._

"_Thank you," she replied. "Now, come to bed."_

"_OK, Rei."_

* * *

Rei's face came on screen and he smiled, "Hey, Rei." The sight of her face calmed him.

"_Shinji, are you alright?_"

"I'm fine," he told her.

"_Your hands are shaking_," she pointed out. So they were. She always was able to see the tiniest details in anything.

"Oh, they are? I must be cold," he said.

"_Shinji…_"

Whenever she had that tone, he knew she was being serious.

"I'm…actually scared," he confessed.

Rei blinked, confused, "_But you've faced many Angels before_."

"Yeah, but this one is huge. I've never faced anything so big before," he said to his girlfriend. "What if I mess up?"

Asuka's face came on screen and she shouted, "_Hey, who says you're the only one here! We're here to back you up so you don't mess up!_"

Asuka had a unique way of showing she cared.

Kannami's face appeared as well and he said, "_Yeah! We're in this together, Ikari-kun! Together, we're unstoppable!_"

Shinji smiled at his friends' encouragement. "Thank you, everyone."

* * *

The city was being evacuated. Citizens were taking whatever they could and getting out of the city. NERV had alerted them that the city could be destroyed and so everyone had to get out. It was a precaution, in case the Evangelions failed.

From atop a roof, Yamato stood watching from above at the people below, "They are so much like ants."

"Indeed," agreed a boy dressed in the same school uniform as Shinji, with grey hair and red eyes with pale skin. He almost looked like a male version of Rei.

"Tabris," Yamato identified.

"Kaworu Nagisa in this form," said Kaworu/Tabris. "Of course, you can call me Tabris if you wish, Gold Snake."

Yamato smiled. He and Kaworu had met a while back and struck a conversation. The Angel of Free Will was rather interested in the power Yamato, a seemingly normal person possessed. Kaworu wanted to know if it was a step in human evolution. Yamato was just vague about it, but Kaworu remained interested.

"So, one of your siblings is planning on falling," said Yamato, pointing to the sky.

"Yes," said Kaworu, "As a measure of taking down all obstacles."

"A Kamikaze attack," spoke Yamato.

"To reach our goals, no sacrifice is too high," said Kaworu.

"But for every goal, there are obstacles and resistance," countered Yamato.

"Yes," agreed Kaworu. "Humans are interesting beings. They may not have the abilities of Angels, but they make up for it with determination." He eyed Yamato.

"Yes, hard work does pay off," agreed Yamato as his hand glowed with Mythical Ki. "But, is it enough to save the city?"

"Why aren't you evacuating with the rest?" asked Kaworu.

"I'm like you. I want to see if those two are capable of saving the world like those before them. Call it personal interest. I want to see if they are as strong as they claim to be. I was unimpressed by their earlier performance, so I want to see if they are even worthy to hold the power given to them."

"Interesting. So, you're here just to observe."

"Aren't you?"

Kaworu smiled.

Yamato looked to the skies, "And so fireballs rain down from the Heavens…"

* * *

"_Incoming!_" Misato's voice cried over the comm-lines. "_Asuka! Shinji! Kannami! It's coming down practically right on you guys!_"

"On it!" the two Jyu-Ken practitioners nodded. Pooling up their Geki and Rinki, the young men prepared their moves.

_"Rai Rai Jyu!"_

_"Sho Rai Jyu!"_

"GekiBat!" From the Eva Unit-01, a mechanical creature resembling a big black bat and constructed from Geki was formed. It screeched as it came to life. Its wings spread out challengingly.

"RinHawk!" From Unit-02, a mechanical hawk with dagger-like feathers burst forth into existence. It was colored grey, with sharp talons and even sharper eyes. It spread out its wings like the bat, ready for battle.

"_JYUKEN BUSOU!_"

The summoned bat and hawk equipped themselves to Eva-01 and 02 respectively, forming…

"GekiEvaBat-01!"

"RinEvaHawk-02!"

"BURNING UP!"

And with that, the two flight-worthy Evas took off with Rei watching in Eva-00.

"Be careful, my friends," said Rei. Having friends was nice and she didn't want to lose them. Even Asuka had become someone precious to her, despite their initial meeting and Asuka's open hostility. She closed her eyes and gave a silent prayer.

The Angel was falling and had past through the atmosphere. Once it hit ground zero, it would be all over. It would be a catastrophe. A whole city would be wiped out…

Not when Shinji and Kannami could help it!

"HYAH!!!" Shinji shouted.

"RYARGH!!!" Asuka and Kannami roared. They spread out their Evas' AT-Fields, lacing them with Ki, and then penetrating the Angel's own AT-Field so they could catch it. Of course, the Angel was massive and its weight was pressing down as gravity helped in its descent. The force of the catch caused the pilot's cockpits to shake but they didn't waver. They had to slow down its descent and defeat it.

Suddenly, something else appeared. Clad in red armor and resembling a tiger, with its legs resembling a purple wolf and a blue jaguar. On its back were bat wings like the ones on Eva-01 and it wore the bat-like helmet as well. Shinji, Kannami and Asuka gawked, the former two in happiness while the latter was in shock.

"What the hell is that!?" she shouted.

"It's…" began Kannami, smiling.

"GekiTouja!" shouted Shinji in happiness. That would only mean…

Inside the giant, five individuals clad in colored bodysuits stood. One was red, another blue, then one in yellow, another one in purple and the final one in white. The red, blue and yellow had helmets that were cat-like, while the purple one was wolfish in appearance. Their last member, the one in white, had a helmet modeled after a rhino. They were GekiRed, GekiBlue, GekiYellow, GekiViolet and GekiChopper…Shinji's sempais and mentors.

"SEMPAI-TACHI!" called out Shinji.

Within the Geki construct, the five GekiRangers were assisting with their young friend. All five of them were concentrating their power in helping the two mammoth machines. It was taking considerable effort on all their parts to help.

"Urg!" GekiRed grunted. "This Zowazowa is really heavy!"

"Oh man!" GekiViolet grunted from the strain. "Shinji, you really pick the worst messes, don't you?"

"Nii-san! Concentrate!" GekiBlue cried to his brother.

"We can punish Shinji-chan later!" GekiYellow added.

"Hnnnngh!" GekiChopper grunted as he put all the force he could muster into stopping the Angel.

Shinji knew more power was needed. He called out, "Beast On!" and in a flash of light he transformed into GekiWing. "Rukawa-dono!"

"Rinki Gaiso!" Kannami called and he was transformed into QuadraBeast Rukawa. "Alright, time to wipe this freak out of existence!" His hands claimed the yokes. "Ready, Red?"

Asuka's stunned expression morphed instantly into a huge grin. "Of course! Let's do this!"

"Let's push it back to where it came from!" GekiWing shouted.

* * *

In NERV, the pilots' status was being monitored and everyone, including the commander, could see what was happening. What was happening?

"What is that construct?" Gendo demanded.

"It appears that your son has a lot of friends in high places," said Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki.

Misato merely whispered, like a prayer, "Go, kids. You can do it."

* * *

"It seems my brother Sahaquiel is having some difficulties in completing his mission," said Kaworu.

"You sound happy," said Yamato.

"Well, if he destroyed the city then my observations would cease prematurely. We can't have that now, can we?"

"No, I suppose not."

* * *

Sahaquiel was not what one called a complex mind. Movement and force were his words and the call of his father was his mind. An all consuming cry to be found and taken. However, he was capable of minor emotion, if any. At this moment, he was experiencing a new sensation. Confusion. Confusion which was slowly beginning to turn into fear.

"Sempai!" called GekiWing. "We can't let this thing hit the ground! It'll go up in smoke and make a nuclear bomb look like a firecracker!"

"Got it!" GekiBlue nodded. "Then let's push this thing back up!"

"By sheer force? Is that possible?" asked GekiYellow.

"We've done it before!" GekiChopper cried. "Let's go into space!"

"Now you're speaking my language!" Rukawa laughed as he pushed more Rinki into the machine. "Ready Asuka!"

"Just try to keep me away!" the redhead laughed as she gripped the controls.

"That's my girl!" Rukawa laughed.

The three constructs put the pressure onto the Angel as they began pushing back against it. It was a sheer miracle that it was slowing down, but after was nothing but the will of Kami. With the trinity in tandem, they did what would have been impossible.

They pushed Sahaquiel back.

The three machines pushed the Angel of the Sky back into the stratosphere, forcing it away from the target it so richly wished to strike down. Confusion and fear were turning into anger for the Angel. Anger at the strange lilum which would keep him away from his Father.

GekiTouja and the two Evas managed to get far enough into space so gravity was no longer a factor. Eva 02's power cord had long since snapped, but with all the Rinki being pushed into it, the countdown was slowed, allowing it at least a little more operation time. With a final push, Sahaquiel was forced away from the planet.

"Okay! Let's show this zowazowa what we're made of!" GekiRed cried, punching his fist into the air.

"_Gekiwaza!_" the Rangers called out.

"_Ringi!_" Rukawa snarled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Asuka watched the unfolding events and decided that she wasn't just going to play passenger to Kannami's killing blows. While Shinji didn't know it, she had been sneaking peeks at Rukawa's fighting style. Nothing spectacular, but enough to piece together a bit of the RinJyuKen that she knew. The forward attack style suited her to a tee.

'_Okay, just remember. Use my pain as a source of power but don't let it control me,_' Asuka spoke to herself, summoning up every negative emotion she could think of, mentally putting crosshairs on the struggling Angel. "_Ringi__**!**_"

'_That's my Fraulein,_" Rukawa chuckled as he watched Asuka mimic his actions.

"_GEKI GEKI RIN RIN HOU!!_" all of the fighters called out.

Light seemed to explode from the three mechas as energy raced at the Angel. Tiger, Cheetah, Leopard, Wolf, Rhinoceros, Bat, Lion…and Lioness. The combined energies collided with Sahaquiel. His AT-Field already disabled from the proximity to the Evas, there was nothing to stop the attack from hitting him**.**

BUH-WHOOOOOOM!!!

Sahaquiel's explosive flesh went up like a nuclear bomb on steroids. The light from the explosion alone would turn night into day. However, the fighters who survived didn't have time to appreciate it as the shockwave sent them hurtling back towards Earth.

* * *

Rei waited, worried. Would her fellow pilots be alright? Would Shinji be alright? She didn't know what she would do without Shinji. She would be lost without him. He'd taught her how to live and the thought of losing him was something that made her feel terribly ill. Without Shinji, she would once again be the commander's doll and she was not a doll anymore. Shinji made her realize that.

Then the sky lit up. The Angel had been vanquished, she knew this. Shinji had a way of turning around a bleak situation with sheer force of will. It was through his encouragement that she decided to learn how to live.

"Shinji…" She saw three objects falling. When she zoomed in on the image she saw what they were. It was the Evas and GekiTouja coming in for reentry and they were descending fast like meteors. "Oh no…" If they crashed, then…they would be turned to scrap. "I have to catch them," she realized.

She made her Eva run, faster and faster, detaching the power cord so she could reach them. She just had to reach them in time.

Closer…

Rei pushed the Eva as hard as she could.

Closer…

Fear clenched the young woman's heart.

Closer…

Tears began dribbling from her eyes as she fought the idea of never having Shinji again.

Closer…

"SHINJI!!!" Rei screamed as she got her Eva to dive forward, hoping to catch her friends.

And then when she expected them to just crash into the dirt, the three mecha's descent seemed to decelerate. Their wings were spread and instead of plummeting, they hovered down to the ground.

"Man, what a ride!" Kannami said as he exhaled.

"Tell me about it," agreed Shinji. A screen with Rei's face came on. She looked frantic.

"Shinji, are you unharmed?" she asked, relieved but still concerned.

"I'm fine. Fit as a fiddle," he answered. He then got an idea. "Hey, wanna meet my sempais?"

* * *

"They were able to avert a disaster," said Kaworu, impressed.

"Well, people like them don't know when to give up," said Yamato. "The power of the human spirit. That's what makes them strong. They can do the impossible."

"Interesting. Observing them would be an interesting experience," stated Kaworu.

"Interesting doesn't even begin to describe them," said Yamato.

* * *

After ejecting from their Evas, the four pilots stood before the 5 GekiRangers. The Rangers reached up and removed their helmets. Smiles were on their faces as they looked at Shinji.

"Hey, Shinji," said Gou as he bumped fists with him. "It's been awhile."

"Too long," Shinji grinned. "How have you guys been doing?"

"A little boring," Ken sighed as he folded his arms behind his head. "Rio and Mele come by, if only to ask about Kannami."

"Shishi-jii?" Kannami blinked.

"Yes. He doesn't show it, but he's concerned about what you're up to," Retsu nodded.

"And Mele-chan whines all the time," Jan nodded. Looking to the remaining pilots, a bright smile came over his face. "Ahh! Shinji has new friends!"

"So he does," Ran nodded to herself before looking at Shinji. "Well Shinji? Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Ah, right," Shinji grinned. He looked over to where Asuka and Rei were looking at the group. "Well, the redhead here is Asuka Langley Sohryu. She's part German and is probably one of the best Eva pilots."

"Next to us," Kannami grinned before Asuka elbowed him in the gut. "OOF!"

"Next to her is Rei Ayanami," Shinji smiled bashfully as Rei stepped forward and gently grasped Shinji's hand. "She's…she's my girlfriend." Both teens blushed at the admission, but the happy smiles on their faces never wavered once.

"Oh, so this is the mysterious Rei Gou told us about," Ran giggled as she took in Rei's appearance. "I must say she is beautiful. You picked well Shinji."

"Thank you," Rei blushed.

"Hmmm, it's about time you got a girl of your own Shinji," Retsu teased. "Maybe now the girls in my classes will stop asking about you."

Shinji had a lot of admirers back in SCRTC among the female JyuKen students. It was tiresome, really. None of them were really his type.

"Here," Gou said as he strode forward, handing something to Shinji. It was a box. "Just in case." He winked.

Jan was admiring the three Evangelions.

"Sugei!!!" shouted Jan. "Dekadeka!"

"Dekadeka?" questioned Asuka. "That's my Eva you're talking about," said Asuka.

"Don't mind him, Asuka," said Shinji. "That's just how Jan-sempai talks."

"Pretty amazing," said Ran.

"I'd give the purple one a better paintjob, though," said Retsu, giving his own assessment.

Several jeeps were heading their way and Shinji knew who they were. Section 2.

"I think you guys better get out of here," said Shinji. "The commander may want to ask you guys questions." '_Or use you as leverage against me.'_

"Guess you're right," said Gou. "And, I'm proud of you kid." He gave his trademark fist salute.

"I had a good teacher," Shinji replied, returning the gesture. "Now, get out of here."

"Take care of yourself," said Gou. He and the Rangers put on their helmets before leaping up and entering GekiTouja. The mecha then jumped up and flew away.

"Shinji, who are they?" asked Rei.

"My family," said Shinji, smiling.

* * *

Today in PE, the girls would be swimming in the pool. Asuka hated the standard school swimsuit. It was bland and unflattering to her. Of course she did know how to work it to her advantage and make it look good, but she preferred something a little more fashionable. Rei didn't care and her attention was elsewhere. She was watching the dodgeball game down on the field. The boys had been split into two teams. Kannami and Shinji were on one team while Kensuke and Toji (much to their horror) were on the other team. Yamato was on the same side as Kensuke and Toji, much to Kannami's delight and Shinji's worry. Kannami didn't know the meaning of the term 'holding back'. Kannami had his eye on Yamato and wanted to knock him out of the game…hard.

The PE teacher blew the whistle and the game began. Of course calling it a game now would be a huge error as Shinji and Kannami, well mostly Kannami, were knocking out the members of the other team with the medicine balls.

"HI-YAH!" shouted Shinji.

"ROI-YAH!" shouted Kannami.

WHAM! Right in the stomach.

BAM! Right in the back.

SMASH! Right in the shoulder.

THUD! Next the shins.

All of them taken out by the duo.

As for Yamato, he was busy dodging all strikes made towards him while his teammates tried to fight back.

CRACK!

"MOMMY!!!" wailed Kensuke as he got one in the nuts.

"Sorry!" Shinji apologized.

Hikari was watching over Rei's shoulders. "Wow, Shinji's pretty good out there."

"Yes, he is," agreed Rei.

"Yeah, but look at Kannami," said Asuka. She saw Kannami take his shirt off and grinned. She also began to drool as she watched his muscles ripple. "Nice…" She liked strong manly men, like Kaji, and Kannami was definitely in the right age group.

Hikari winced as Toji was taken out. "Poor Toji…"

Soon, it was down to three. Yamato was the only one left on his team and he was facing Shinji and Kannami.

"So, it's just us then," said Yamato with a ball tucked under his arm.

"Yup, it is," said Kannami as he passed the ball between his hands.

"Let's have a good clean match," said Shinji.

Kannami grinned cruelly. He roared and threw his ball at Yamato…and missed.

"My turn," said Yamato and he hurled his ball at Kannami. However, it didn't. Like slow motion, Shinji jumped out in front of Kannami, turning himself into a shield and taking the ball hard in the chest.

"IKARI!!!" shouted Kannami as Shinji went down, in pain.

"Avenge me…Rukawa…" said Shinji hoarsely before he fell unconscious.

"I will, my friend," said Kannami as he picked up a ball from the ground. Yamato did the same. "THIS IS FOR IKARI!!!"

They charged at each other, their Ki flaring out and into their balls before hurling them at each other. The balls soared through the air with a trail of Ki behind them. Then…all went dark.

* * *

"Ow…" Kannami groaned as he came to. "What hit me?"

"How are you feeling, big guy?" asked Asuka.

"Red?" His vision was blurry but then it cleared. "Is that you?"

"Who else would drag your ass up here to the infirmary?" she snorted. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like an 18 wheeler ran me over then backed up and ran me over again," he said.

"Guess you're fine," she said.

"So, what happened? Did I win?"

"You tied." She pointed to another bed where Yamato was lying on, sound asleep. "You got hit at the same time."

"Oh," Kannami frowned. "How's Ikari-kun?"

Asuka giggled and said, "Take a look." She pointed to another bed and Kannami gawked. Shinji was wrapped up in bandages and looking like a mummy. Rei was the one responsible. She had wanted to treat any injuries and instead went overboard.

* * *

"Hey, Shinji, Misato's place is this way," said Asuka as she jabbed her finger in said direction. It was after school but at the gate Shinji walked away from his friends instead of with.

"Sorry, Asuka, but I got someplace to be," said Shinji.

"Where?" asked Kannami.

"Oh, someplace special and private," he answered. He looked to Rei who was staring back expectantly. "Want to come with me, Rei?"

"Yes," she answered immediately.

"Well, guess I'll see you at home," said Shinji as he waved at Asuka while Rei walked alongside him, holding hands.

"Lovebirds," Asuka snorted as she watched them leave. For a stoic girl, Rei was really expressive around Shinji. Guess he was good for her after all.

"Hey, we could do something together," said Kannami.

"Sure," she shrugged. "Why not?"

* * *

The couple first stopped at a flower shop where Shinji bough a bouquet. She knew from what she read that men gave women flowers as a romantic gesture. She at first thought they were for her but then he told her they were for someone else. Who else did he have flowers to give to? She wondered and wanted to know but she wanted Shinji to tell her voluntarily.

The two boarded the train later and when it stopped Shinji brought Rei to the cemetery. He led her to a gravestone…one marked with Yui Ikari's name.

Yui Ikari…Shinji's mother.

'_So, the flowers were for her,_' thought Rei as she watched Shinji kneel down and put the flowers down.

They weren't alone, though. Gendo was there too.

And while Shinji hated the man, at least the man took the time to come and visit Yui's grave.

Shinji stood at his mom's grave with Rei. Gendo stood stiffly to the side. Neither man acknowledged each other. As far as Shinji was concerned, Gendo was dead to him. He was here to pay respects to his mom and go. He didn't want to be in Gendo's presence more than he should. For now, it was out of mutual respect that the two Ikaris hadn't become hostile.

"Hey, mom. It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm doing great. Got good friends and a...girlfriend. I want you to meet her. Her name's Rei."

"What is she doing here?" questioned Gendo, referring to Rei's presence.

"I brought her here," Shinji answered. "Got a problem with that?"

"She has no place here. This is a family affair," answered Gendo.

"Family?" scoffed Shinji. "That's a laugh. Do you even know what family means? You abandoned me after Mom died. As far as I'm concerned, I have no father. You're dead to me, Commander Ikari. The only reason that's stopping me from hurting you further is Mom."

Gendo gave a grunt and walked away towards his car. Rei witnessed the exchange with a lot of apprehension. She saw Shinji trembling and decided to comfort him. She wrapped his arms around him from behind and he spun around to embrace her fully.

"I'm glad I've got you Rei," he said. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

Chrome: Finally, an update. Sorry for the wait. Had a lot of stuff going on. Hope you enjoy!


	18. Jettison

The night was young and the people of Tokyo-3 were aiming to enjoy it, no one more so that Asuka Langley Sohryu and Kannami Rukawa. Both were feeling a little stuffed up at their apartments and both decided to go out for some night life fun. Kannami had suggested karaoke, which Asuka had never done before. It took some prodding, but the RinJyuKen user managed to convince his redheaded love interest to give it a shot.

Both had arrived and booked a private room for their own use. Kannami's reasons were that Asuka wouldn't embarrass herself and get pissed off should she prove to be a bad singer. To Asuka, it was more a point of pride that she wanted only one person to hear her singing voice rather than a room of strangers. Besides, the more feminine part of her was giddy at the thought of a guy like Kannami serenading her with music.

The room itself was large enough to fit a small group. For Asuka and Kannami, there was plenty of space to have fun with.

"Just you watch, Fourth!" Asuka grinned. "You'll be thinking you've died and gone to heaven when you hear me sing!"

"Oh really?" Kannami snickered. "Then show me what you've got!"

"Oh, I'll show you," Asuka smirked, some seduction playing into her eyes. "But are you man enough to handle it?"

* * *

Gendo read over numerous reports in his office concerning the last angel. Despite the victory, the Council of SEELE was getting quite…uncomfortable, with all of the anomalies which were appearing. The first was Shinji, being far from the spineless malleable fool he should have been. Both Gendo and SEELE's scenarios demanded for the boy to wish to die for Third Impact to be triggered.

The second was these Beast Fist users who first appeared. First the Kannami boy and then Yamato. Both were strangely powerful for such young men. The old men ranged from wary, to suggesting downright kidnapping the two of them for experimentation and removal from the scenario. However, both boys proved too powerful for NERV agents to subdue. At the moment, they were left alone.

The last straw was that…GekiTouja. Shinji had explained that it was a solid manifestation of their battle auras combined. To think that humans were capable of such was ludicrous, but the proof was undeniable. It was right there and helped destroy the last Angel. SEELE was in an uproar bout that, such a massive thing was never mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Despite these variables, Gendo remained confident in his scenario. He still held all the cards. The Beast Fist users were easily dealt with and despite his strength, Shinji had one very large weakness. Ironic that it was the same one Gendo had, but for different reasons.

A door opening caught Gendo's attention, seeing Fuyutsuki entering.

"I take it the council has decided to take action?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"They have apparently lost patience with the three boys and intend to do something about them," Gendo answered, not looking up from his papers. "They intend to intervene and deal with them themselves."

"Should we do something?" asked the former teacher.

"I don't see any reason to," Gendo replied. "The boys themselves thrive in adversity and I doubt that Agents of SEELE could take them when we could not. Even if they did, it is only helping further my own scenario."

* * *

Asuka bowed proudly as Kannami applauded. As with everything Asuka did, she proved she was great at it. Her singing voice was actually something to hear and Kannami felt damn lucky to probably be the only one in Japan to have heard it. "Thank you! Thank you!"

Kannami laughed as Asuka hopped off the mini stage provided by the room, "You've got a pretty good singing voice Asuka."

Asuka grinned as she took a seat next to him "Of course! I've been raised to be perfect in every way." She held the microphone to him "What about you? Can you sing?"

Kannami hesitated. This…was something he had been hoping to avoid. Despite it being his idea, he was sort of planning on a different way to spend the time in the private room. "Uh...not really...I've never really tried before."

Asuka grinned as his reluctance. So something made the ruthless Kannami nervous after all? This was way too good to pass up in her mind. "Ya scared, big guy? Thought you RinJyuKen guys were fearless."

Kannami snapped, "We are fearless!" He then shrugged his shoulders while he found something rather interesting on the floor to look at for the time being, "Embarrassment...that's another matter."

Asuka laughed. "I was just teasing! You know, I would probably be jealous of guys like you and Shinji, but I know you both trained hard since you were kids, like me." That much was true. Asuka took great pride in her skills and one of the things that pissed her off most was when people were considered great when they didn't put any real effort into their training. Natural talent was fine with her, but being good at something without trying? That set her off like almost nothing else.

"Yep, had to do a lot of training to get this good." He flexed his muscles with a cocky grin. Asuka saw an opportunity her hormones had been trying to get her to take lately and took a chance. She shyly touched his arm and began to feel the hard muscle in it. A tint of red came to her cheeks as she felt the definitely male muscle beneath it. '_Yum! Mama likes!_'

"Feels nice too," she added almost absently. Letting her fingers trail off his arm, she decided to ask something that had been bugging her for some time but never had the right time to ask about it. "Kannami?"

Kannami blinked. He didn't hear Asuka ask something in a softer voice before. Was something wrong? "What's wrong Asuka?"

"Remember that mission in that volcano?"

"Yeah...I remember." He frowned thinking of how weak he looked in front of Asuka. Damn his memories!

Asuka took a breath and decided to ask the question since there was no way of avoiding it at this point, "Are you afraid of fire or something?"

Kannami blinked before his instinctive bravado took control of his mouth, "Don't be ridiculous. You said it yourself. RinJyuKen users aren't afraid of anything!"

"Explain your freakout that caused our sync with the Eva to go haywire then."

Kannami turned his eyes away. He should have remembered that part. Well, might as well come out and admit it…partly so anyway. "Look...I'm not afraid of fire or anything...It just...it just brings back bad memories."

Asuka frowned. She knew that look on his face. She had her own fair share of bad memories herself. Most of those were centered around her mother's breakdown and growing up with the so-called family she had to live with. A spineless father and a bitch step-mother.

Asuka sighed and nodded. "I understand." Awkward silence. That didn't sit well with the fiery redhead so she decided to push the night along "OK, if you don't wanna sing, what do you wanna do?"

Kannami smirked. He had a few ideas in mind, "Well, we're alone...in a nice room...I can think of a couple things..."

Asuka's eyes widened and she blushed. She twiddled her fingers. There was no mistaking what Kannami was talking about. The thought had crossed Asuka's mind numerous times as well. Her body had been crying out for it in various volumes since she first saw Kannami in his swim trunks and when he pressed himself against her. All that hard muscle…drool…

Shaking her head to prevent ecchi images from controlling her, Asuka spoke, "So...I saw Rei and Shinji kiss and I was wondering..."

Kannami snickered. Now that he couldn't pass up, "Sorry, I don't think Ikari-kun's got the guts for a three-way. But there are plenty of eligible guys around."

Asuka blushed and shouted, "That's not what I meant, baka-kuma!"

Kannami laughed. She was so easy to tease sometimes, "Hey, I actually like that nickname when you say it."

Asuka pouted and crossed her arms, "Hmph! I'll get straight to the freaking point then! Wanna make out?"

"What took you so long to ask?"

Asuka would have growled, but her hormones gave her a little push, getting her to find a new seat in Kannami's lap before wrapping her arms around his neck and claiming his lips with hers.

* * *

It was some time later that Asuka finally returned home. Rather than be in a sour mood or such like that on time she had to go on a date with some guy Hikari set her up with, she came back in with a bright smile and this happy glow on her face. Misato was sitting in a relaxing chair with her familiar can of beer as she spied the redhead returning.

"Tadaima…" Asuka greeted, pleasantly of all things.

Misato questioned although she could guess at the answer, "Where were you?"

Asuka answered with a beaming smile, "Just...went on a walk..."

Misato was definitely not convinced. She recognized a glow like that only came from girls with new boyfriends, married couples, or people who got out of a heavy make-out session, "You're glowing."

Asuka shrugged before she looked around and noticed a face missing from the usual group, "Where's Shinji?"

Rei, who was reading on the couch, answered, "Kannami gave him a call and challenged him to a fight. It was sudden and urgent."

"Guess he needed to work off some steam then," Asuka giggled.

* * *

As expected, Kannami & Shinji were having a spar but at the same time they were chatting as they exchanged blows. This was considered light for them since the pain wasn't too intense. Shinji needed the exercise and Kannami wanted someone to brag to.

Shinji ducked under a swing and threw his leg out. He could tell something was up with his friend. He was smiling too much. He said, "You look awfully happy."

Kannami caught the leg and tossed Shinji backwards, laughing. "Why not? I just made out with a hot little redhead."

Shinji gawked as he regained his balance. Did he hear that right? "What? You're not pulling my leg, right?" He caught Kannami's fist as it came flying at him.

Kannami grinned. "Nope. She was pretty into it too." He slammed his palm into Shinji's chest.

Shinji grunted and then used a roundhouse that hit Kannami's arm. "Really? I thought Asuka would have better taste."

Kannami snorted. "Hey, she's not blind and deaf, unlike Rei." He narrowly dodged a punch to his head.

Shinji warned, "Don't talk about my angel like that."

Kannami snickered, "Looks like I hit a nerve."

Shinji sighed, relaxing himself, and spoke, "So, you and Asuka, huh? About time."

Kannami cocked an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shinji shrugged. "I'm just saying. One of you had to make the first move sooner or later. You were both flirting for so long people were getting anxious. I learned from Kensuke that the class was betting on you and her like they were me and Rei. Only I think the boys were betting for it to never happen."

Kannami chuckled while he answered, "It was all part of the game we were playing...of course, it is a game with no losers."

Shinji nodded. "You both deserve each other."

Kannami demanded haughtily, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Shinji dodged the question with his own, "So, when are you gonna take her on an official date?"

"Don't know. I haven't officially asked her out yet."

The two were suddenly interrupted when a van stopped in the lot the two pilots were fighting in. The pair could only blink before men with black suit and guns came out, pointing at them. Whoever they were, they were definitely not NERV. Section 2 were usually a lot heavier equipped than this.

"Friends of yours?" Kannami questioned.

"No," Shinji said with narrowed eyes.

Stepping forward, one of the black suits ordered, "Come with us."

Kannami objected, "I'm gonna have to say no."

"That wasn't a request," said the black suit as he took out a gun. Hammers cocked as every weapon was prepared to fire at the two unconcerned boys.

Shinji clenched his fists as his Gekichanger began to shine, "Rukawa-dono, how about we give these guys a proper answer?"

Kannami grinned almost sadistically, his Rinki rolling off of him in waves. "Sounds good to me..."

"BEAST ON!"

"RINKI GAISO!"

* * *

Later...

Asuka stood at the entrance with her hands on her hips. She had been expecting Kannami and Shinji to end their fight a while ago. She had even made a good meal for the pair (more for Kannami) since she knew Shinji would invite his friend to dinner. Of course, now it was threatening to go cold and Asuka's temper was getting thinner.

When the pair finally stumbled into the apartment, Asuka was ready to go off on the pair of them, "Where were you-" She gasped as she took in the sight. "Mein Gott! Are you guys okay?"

Both Kannami and Shinji were grinning like idiots, but they sure didn't look too well. They were dirty, sweaty, and scuffed up. Scratches were on their clothes and their skin, leaving red trails of blood. Asuka thought she could smell spent gunpowder too.

Kannami grinned, acting like he hadn't been shot at, "Pretty damn good. Got into a nice little fight."

Shinji added, "Just a few scratches. You should see the other guys. They thought they could kidnap us."

Kannami scoffed, "Fucking morons!"

Rei, hearing Asuka's cry, practically teleported off of the couch to see to Shinji. She gently touched his wounds to see if they were serious. As she did, she asked with concern, "Shinji, are you unharmed?"

Shinji nodded and smiled cheerfully, "Fit as a fiddle. OK, so, is it my turn to make dinner or can I opt out?"

* * *

Yamato squatted down and poked an unconscious black suit with a finger.

"How weak," said Yamato.

"Didn't stop them, though," said Kaworu.

* * *

NERV…A week later.

"What do you mean we have to take our synch test NAKED!?" shouted Asuka.

Ritsuko explained, "It's to get readings when you are completely exposed to the LCL."

"I'm not doing it!" Asuka protested.

"Sorry, but you have no say in the matter," Ritsuko retorted. "Now, strip down!"

Asuka grumbled but then felt Kannami's comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it Red. Sides, this way you can see how good I look and I get to see how good you look. Fair is fair."

Asuka blushed. She'd been having dreams about that. Although, this wasn't exactly the ideal situation she had been hoping for her to see that. She would have really preferred to see something like that maybe in a nice decorative bedroom…or a spacious bathroom with a large shower…or bathtub…or even pool…

"Asuka? You're spacing out," Kannami commented, bringing Asuka's mind back to reality.

Shinji was twiddling his fingers as he looked to Rei. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked before but he was still pretty nervous about it. Although, she was a rather appealing sight to see no matter how much or little she wore. A small part of Shinji which he denied having was looking forward to seeing Rei in the buff again. Rei herself didn't really care since she lacked common human modesty. Though, the idea of seeing Shinji in the nude did give her a warm feeling. Perhaps this will be the day she would be granted permission to see him as such.

* * *

"I still think this is a load of bull!" Kannami snapped as he and the other three pilots were placed in a clean hallway after being washed seventeen times through some kind of special elevator.

"_It's for the sake of improving EVA technology,_" Ritsuko spoke over the loudspeakers. "_Don't worry. The cameras are turned off for your privacy._"

"Then why is the red light still on?" asked Shinji skeptically.

"This stinks," Asuka huffed. Still, she couldn't help but steal glances at Kannami. She definitely liked what she saw.

Kannami and Shinji were both muscled and athletic, but that was where the results of their training differed. Kannami was covered in scars from past battles and some of the more ruthless bits of his training in the RinJyuKen. Shinji on the other hand was almost devoid of scars save for the odd one that stood out. Still, there was no doubt that both of them were fighters and a wet dream to any girl

"Asuka, if you wanted to see so bad you just have to ask," Kannami grinned, making Asuka's face turn crimson.

Over on the opposite side, Shinji was trying not to think about Rei's body while trying to keep the effect being in this situation with a girl like her down. The blue-haired girl in question stole the odd glance, but didn't once try to look lower. However, she did make one comment.

"Shinji, why are you not looking at me?" she asked.

"Bwu-huh?!" Shinji blinked, looking to Rei, but thankfully a barrier kept her torso from being revealed.

"I have come to understand that males enjoy seeing females in states of undress like we are currently in," Rei commented. "I have also given you permission to see me in such a state. We are also in a relationship which allows us a higher level of intimacy than mere friendship. Why do you seem to be so uncomfortable?"

"Uh…uh…uh…," Shinji gulped, trying to keep his brain in control. "It's just…I'd rather have this sort of thing happening…in private! Yeah! Just knowing people might be watching makes me feel uncomfortable….sorta."

"I see," Rei nodded. "I will try to make you more comfortable when we go home."

Shinji couldn't help but wonder what that meant.

Walking along a cold hallway and without a stitch of clothing was definitely not something Asuka wanted to do at all. She and her fellow pilots were now in the simulation plugs for their sync test. She had caught a better glimpse of Kannami previously and had blushed a bit. He was the epitome of manhood if she could dare say so herself.

"Cameras were turned off my ass," Kannami growled from his own plug. "The little red light on top tells me otherwise Doc!"

"Probably taking pictures for posterity too," Shinji grumbled. While he wasn't ashamed of his body, he didn't feel comfortable with the though of people seeing him in the buff.

"Damn cameras had better be off or heads are gonna roll!" Asuka threatened. Although, if the cameras really were turned on she might try asking Ritsuko about copies of Kannami. '_Damn hormones!_'

The four pilots were waiting for the test to continue. At odd moments, Ritsuko would ask for them to move a part of the simulation Evas. Kannami was ready to fall asleep while Rei and Shinji chatted. Rei had wanted to use the comm. System so she could see her boyfriend, but Shinji denied that part of the conversation much to her confusion.

"Is this going to end yet?" asked Kannami in a near whine. "I still don't see how this is different from our usual tests. I mean, aside from the view of Red's derriere this isn't so different."

"_Hey! You peeked!_" Askuka's voice snapped.

"It's only fair since you did the same to me," Kannami grinned.

"_Jeez, should we just dump you two in the same plug and let you make out until you feel better?_" Shinji sighed. This talk wasn't helping his libido.

"I think that would be swell," Kannami grinned.

"_You would,_" Asuka muttered, but there seemed to be some agreement in her voice for the idea as well.

BREET BREET BREET!

"That doesn't sound good," Kannami frowned.

* * *

"What's going on?!" demanded Ritsuko.

"There's some kind of corrosion spreading through the system! It blew through the protein all like it was nothing!" Maya reported as she typed furiously. "It's moving at an incredible rate! I can't get a lock on it yet! It's on cylinder six!"

"Dammit!" Ritsuko snapped. "Jettison the plugs! NOW!"

* * *

After the unexpected turbulence made from the sudden ejection, the four simulation plugs had been sent surging through the water and onto the shores of Lake Ashi which was situated on top of the synch test area. Water used to submerge the simulation Evas was pumped from there and made for a convenient place to send the entry plugs in case of an emergency.

Shinji grunted as he felt his plug come to a stop. Frowning, he figured that something was going wrong. One didn't just launch the entry plugs into the lake without a damn good reason. He checked his systems and found that they weren't working.

"Perfect," he sighed. "Okay. I'm not waiting. _RO RO DAN!_"

Shinji launched the attack into the entry hatch of the plug, knocking it clear off its hinges and dumping LCL onto the sand below it where it was taken in by the waves or soaked into the sand. Jumping out, he saw that no one was around, which was good for his modesty at any rate. The LCL was already beginning to stink in the open sun. To combat this, Shinji dunked himself into the lake water before returning to the shore.

"Now for some damn clothes."

Reaching into stuff space (how he had it without clothes on was anyone's guess) and pulled out a complete outfit like the one he left behind at NERV. Dragging it on, he spied the other three entry plugs beached next to his. Right now he was thankful he could sense his friends' auras inside of them lest he accidentally open one and reveal a naked and angry Asuka.

"_GOYU KOHA!_"

BOOM!!

Shinji watched an entry hatch door went flying into the air as a naked and LCL drenched Kannami climbed out and dunked himself into the water, emerging to take a breath.

"Dammit!" he cursed. "What the fuck was that all about?"

"Something bad I'm sure," Shinji sighed. "We'd better get the girls. Hope you packed extra clothes in stuff space."

"Always do," Kannami nodded. "I'll get Asuka. You get Rei. No way am I missing the chance at seeing my Fraulein in the buff."

"Be serious," Shinji sighed. "We might have an Angel on our hands."

"Seemed to me like someone glitched up the system," Kannami shrugged as he pulled some of his usual clothes out from stuff space.

"I'd feel better if we checked ourselves." Shinji sighed. He went to the plug containing Rei. With his Geki enhanced strength, he was able to tear open the door to reveal the girl after the LCL was drained out of the object. "Rei…" he said, relieved to see her alive.

"Shinji," the girl smiled. "I knew you'd come for me."

"I'm glad to see you too," he replied. "Now, let's get some clothes on you."

Kannami grinned as he tore the door off Asuka's plug. "Hello, Honey!" he greeted, eyeing the girl's naked form. He gave her a once over and smiled, liking what he saw. "Nice…" He thought, '_So, she is a natural redhead. Never doubted it for a second._'

"Are you just going to gawk at me all day or get me something to wear!?" the redhead shouted, annoyed as she covered herself with her hands.

"Can't I stare for a few more minutes?"

"No!"

* * *

"Change is coming," said Kaworu Nagisa as he sat across from Yamato.

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" inquired Yamato.

"You Lillium are capable of evolving by your own power," Kaworu answered. "You have great potential. You are proof of that, Mythical Beast."

"It took hard work and effort to evolve myself," answered Yamato with a shrug. "Evolution is something that needs to be fought for and developed. It's not something gained overnight. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"So true," said Kaworu. "Change has appeared. SEELE is worried. I wish to see change to happen further."

"So, until you will intervene you will merely observe?"

"It's fun. Until the end of the world, I will enjoy myself."

"So, that's why you ordered your 5th sundae," Yamato cocked an eyebrow.

"I enjoy the flavor."

* * *

Rei donned herself in the spare clothes Shinji procured for her at a moderate pace, seeing nothing wrong with being nude in public. After all, only her boyfriend was looking and she had no qualms about him seeing her. She idly wondered why he had a training outfit in her size and made in sky blue to match her hair. Shinji had confessed that he had it made as a gift to her and was aiming to give it to her soon. The thought made Rei warm inside.

Asuka acted pissed about Kannami seeing her nude, but the naughty thrill she got from it happening told her she wasn't entirely upset with it. Kannami had loaned her one of his spare training outfits which was a black tank top and jeans. Asuka donned the pants with some discomfort since they were for men and she needed a belt to get them on tight. Of course, tucking in the tank top to outline her torso was just malicious teasing on her part.

After getting the girls properly dressed, the four teens now had another problem. How were they going to get back to NERV?

"Looks like we have no choice," said Kannami, seeing how far away NERV Central was. "Can you fly?"

"Duh," Shinji frowned. "Of course I can."

"Fly?" questioned Asuka.

"Just trust us, Red. We're going traveling in style," winked Kannami.

"Shriek! Wings of the Beast! Beast On!" Shinji called. In a flash of light he'd transformed into GekiWing.

"Rinki Gaiso!" called out Kannami as he called on his armor.

"OK, so now what?" Asuka placed her hands to her hips.

"Shinji, I hope you have a plan," said Rei.

"Naturally," said GekiWing, snapping his fingers. "Gekiwaza!"

"Ringi!" added QB-Rukawa.

"Rai Rai Jyu! GekiBat!"

"Shorai Jyu! RinHawk!"

Bursting forth from their aura filled bodies, the two beasts soared into the air, squawking and screeching as they spread their wings. The magnificent armored beasts then landed before the four pilots, ready to be boarded.

"Rei, let's go," said GekiWing, taking Rei's hand in his.

"You're coming with me, Red," sad Rukawa, taking Asuka's hand.

* * *

A/N: Wonder what's going on in NERV? Well, we won't find out until the next chap now, will we? Pls, read and review and enjoy this story, OK?


	19. Combined Victory

The RinHawk and GekiBat were flying towards Tokyo-3, carrying their passengers. They were more than a little confused as to what was happening. At first they were just taking an abnormal synch test when alarms began going off and everyone was going nuts. Then they were unceremoniously dumped at the edge of Lake Asai before breaking out of their Entry Plugs and heading back to NERV. As they neared their place of employment, they saw something in the distance.

Approaching Tokyo-3 was a giant machine which looked more than a little familiar to Shinji and Rei. However, it was fundamentally different. Glowing circuitry patterns were all over its surface and there was an unnatural light coming from the machine's eyes.

"Hey, isn't that Jet Alone?" GekiWing asked.

"Jet-what?" QB-Rukawa asked.

"It was meant to be a project to combat the Angels, making the Evangelions obsolete. However, it went berserk. Fortunately, Major Katsuragi and Shinji were able to subdue the machine," Rei explained.

"So, if Shinji shut it down, why is it up and running?" Asuka asked.

"Guys, I don't think that's Jet Alone anymore," observed GekiWing as he saw the machine morphing into a monstrosity. Sections of the machine were unfolding or shifting, revealing more efficient machinery, upgraded to levels the creators of Jet Alone hadn't been able to achieve. Even worse, new weapons could be seen coming from its body, weapons that didn't seem all that fun to be on the wrong end of. In the end, the Jet Alone appeared to look more like a bulky EVA rather than the machine it was. "Rei, should we engage?"

"Negative, we don't know what it is exactly," Rei stated. "We should head back to NERV."

"Who cares, damn it! That thing looks like it's gonna thrash the city!" QB-Rukawa snapped. "Angel or not, we have to kill it before it destroys the city!"

GekiWing stated, "I don't say this a lot, but Rukawa-dono's right. We can't waste time. We have to fight! Hit it hard and hit it fast!"

"Red, hold on tight!" QB-Rukawa instructed.

GekiBat and RinHawk flew at the mutated Jet-Alone and began firing on it. RinHawk flapped its wings, launching feathers like arrows at it while GekiWing sent blades of pressurized air at the robot. It howled out in pain. It then generated an AT-Field to deflect further attacks.

"Well, that confirms it's an Angel," Asuka said. "Unless it's a new type of Eva, it shouldn't have an AT-Field."

"Damn!" Rukawa cursed. "Now what do we do?"

"Head to NERV," said Rei, her hands grasping tightly to GekiWing's arm. "Please," she begged. Fighting the Angel right now was foolish, even if they had a GekiBeast and RinBeast as aid. She didn't want Shinji to get hurt.

"OK, Rei. We'll head to NERV. This looks like a job for Eva," GekiWing relented.

* * *

The four pilots entered NERV to find out more about the situation and to gear up for battle. The Evas were made to battle Angels and if this was just another Angel, then the Evas were needed.

"So, what are we looking at here?" inquired Kannami. All four Eva pilots were in their Plug Suits.

"It's the 11th Angel," said Ritsuko.

"So, how did it get into Jet-Alone?" Shinji asked.

Ritsuko explained that the 11th Angel had infiltrated NERV in the form of a nano-virus. While they had been able to drive it away, it had found a new host to take residence in, the host being what remained of Jet-Alone.

"Looks like we have to stop it!" Asuka was excited about this. "Come on, partner!" She grabbed Kannami's arm. He just grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Looks like all three Evas are off to battle," quipped Shinji.

"Actually, that's not quite true," said Misato. "Only Unit-01 and Unit-02 will be going."

"But what about Rei?" Shinji asked, confused. "Why can't she go?"

"Who says she's not going?" Ritsuko retorted.

Like what had been done for Unit-02, Unit-01 now had an Entry Plug built for two. Shinji was still the main pilot while Rei would be secondary. The blue haired girl clutched Shinji's hand as she gazed up at the beast known as Evangelion Unit-01. Asuka and Kannami were already in Unit-02 and ready to launch.

"Are you scared, Rei?" Shinji asked softly.

"I…" Rei recalled the pain. She didn't like the pain. She didn't want a repeat of the pain. He could sense her fear and slowly and gently he looped his arms around her, pulling the girl up against him in a comforting embrace.

"I'm here," he said. "So there's no need to fear. I'll make sure you won't be hurt."

"Shinji…" Rei closed her eyes.

"You can be all lovey-dovey later, lovebirds," Misato ordered, "Now get into the Eva and kick some Angel booty!"

Shinji reluctantly let Rei go and the two pilots climbed into the Entry Plug. As it sealed up and filled with LCL, Rei recalled the meditation exercises she took with Shinji. She also put her faith in, not only the machine, but the man piloting the machine with her.

Ritsuko grimaced. It was a long shot, but a sound theory. Maybe with Shinji's presence would Unit-01 not reject Rei.

"Let's hope it works," murmured Ritsuko as Misato returned to her post.

"EVA UNITS! LAUNCH!" Misato commanded.

"Eva-02, ready to go!" Asuka called.

"Eva-01, burning up!" Shinji responded.

And thus the two bio-mechanical giants were launched.

The red and violet mechas landed close to where the 11th Angel was. It didn't seem to be doing anything, yet, but it would soon become hostile.

"Alright, let's kick butt and take names!" Kannami grinned ferally as he let his Rinki seep out of his pores.

"Now you're talking!" Asuka grinned equally eager.

"Better be careful. We don't know what else it can do," Shinji cautioned. "Rei, how are you doing?"

Rei wasn't in pain. It appeared that the dual-synchronization was doing well for once. "I'm fine," she said. It appeared that Shinji's calming presence was able to help subdue Eva-01's dislike of her.

As the 11th Angel turned to look at the two Evas, it was obvious it was not happy as it suddenly dashed straight towards Eva-01!

It swung its arm at the violet Eva but it was intercepted and caught by the red Eva.

"Nobody beats Ikari but me!" roared Kannami.

"We got him!" grinned Asuka.

Or was it the other way around? Suddenly, cables lashed out and wrapped around Eva-02's arm like several tendrils.

"Huh!" the two co-pilots of Unit-02 uttered before crying out in pain, "ARGH!"

"Asuka! Rukawa-dono!" Shinji cried out. He summoned his Geki. "GekiSabers!" In both Eva-01's hands appeared the twin swords known as the GekiSabers, linked to the Shark-Ken. "Hyah!" Charging, he slashed at the 11th Angel. Sparks flew as the blades hit the AT-Field. "Let them go!" Shinji demanded from the Angel as he continued to slash.

Rei instructed, "Shinji, we have to use our AT-Field to negate its AT-Field."

"Gotcha," Shinji nodded. Focusing, he put the AT-Field into the swords and with a slash cut through the Angel's AT-Field, this time landing a hit. He then used another slash, severing the cables holding Unit-02 before knocking the Angel off its feet with a kick. "Asuka, Rukawa-dono, are you okay?"

"Been better," groaned Asuka.

"Yeah, me too," added Kannami.

"That's good and –ARGH!" Shinji suddenly screamed.

"Shinji!" Rei shouted.

The Angel had suddenly lashed out with an energy blade that sliced through Eva-01's right leg, severing it at the knee. Through sync feedback, Shinji felt it was his leg that had been sliced.

"Shinji, it's only phantom pain!" Rei told him. "It's only the Eva's leg that's been cut."

"I know that, but my body doesn't," he grunted as Eva-01 fell forward. It stopped itself with its hand and knees.

The Angel/Jet Alone hybrid then prepared its weapons and fired an entire barrage of missiles at the two Eva Units.

"No way!" Kannami roared as he created a barrier using his Rinki and the Eva's AT-Field. They exploded against the barrier.

"We have to counter attack!" Asuka shouted. They were running out of time and energy.

"Shinji, are you alright?" Rei asked.

"Fine, but looks like Eva-01 needs a hand," Shinji said. "Or a leg! Rai Rai Jyu! GekiWolf!"

The purple aura around him flared and it exploded right out of Eva-01, forming into the wolf-like contrast that howled. It then tucked itself into a ball and collided with the 11th Angel, striking it with its bladed tail before returning to Eva-01's side.

"Here we go…" Shinji growled with exertion as he forced Eva-01 to stand upon one leg. "GekiWolf! JyuKen Busou!"

GekiWolf howled and transformed, becoming Eva-01's new right leg.

"Heh, perfect fit," acknowledged Shinji.

"Always showing off, huh, Ikari-kun?" Kannami asked.

"Guys, Angel?" Asuka said, pointing out the enemy.

"OK, Rukawa-dono," said Shinji. "Here's the plan. You hit him hard and I'll hit him high."

"Gotcha!" Kannami nodded as he glared at the Angel. "Alright, here we go!" With a roar, Unit-02 rushed at the Angel. "Ringi! Shishi Rendan!"

Eva-02's fists went flying, energy in the form of lion heads enveloping said fists as they struck the Angel repeatedly with fists that didn't stop coming at him, sending the monster staggering back with each strike.

"Next! Raigo Dan!" A ball of Rinki formed in Eva-02's hand and was thrust into the Angel with explosive force, shattering the AT-Field and sending it flying.

"My turn!" Asuka made Eva-02 kick the Angel skyward with a high kick. "He's all yours, 1st and 3rd!"

"EVA GEKI SEIBA ZAN!" Eva-01 had jumped and swung the twin GekiSabers down on the Angel, tri-secting it with ease. The three parts of the Angel fell to the ground with a crash as Eva-01 landed on its feet. "Did we win?" Shinji asked.

They got their answer from Misato, "Negative! Angel is still active! I repeat: the Angel is still active!"

The teen pilots saw a cloud coming out of the dismembered Jet Alone and rise out of it.

"That is no cloud," murmured Rei.

"It's the Angel!" Shinji cried. "Rukawa-dono!"

"I got it!" Kannami nodded. "Red, are you up?"

"I don't know what you have planned, and I know it's crazy, but I know it's good," said Asuka.

"Rei, I'm going to need your help and your Ki," said Shinji.

Rei gave a silent nod.

The pilots focused and began to glow with vibrant energy. This was being detected back at NERV as Ritsuko continued to watch the readings.

"An energy spike?" Ritsuko murmured. "That damn Ki energy again." It didn't have any scientific basis, but Shinji and Kannami were able to manipulate their own bio-energy field and to some extent, Asuka and Rei were able to do it too."

"Come on," Misato encouraged.

"GEKIWAZA! GEKI GEKI JYU HOU!" Shinji called.

"RINGI! RIN KENMA HOU!" Kannami roared.

Energy in the shape of a wolf, bat, shark and elephant burst out of Eva-01 as energy in the shape of a hawk, a lion, a chameleon, a bear and a hawk fired out from Eva-02.

The 11th Angel was in the form of nanites but even it could not escape as the energy that flew on it expanded in its berth and engulfed it. Every single molecule of the Angel was being vaporized until nothing left of it remained.

The energy attack dissolved and that was when Eva-01 lost GekiWolf as it faded out of existence. Eva-01 had lost energy and it fell backwards. Eva-02 had also run out of power and dropped onto its knees.

"Now that was something else," said Asuka. "Hey, Kannami?" She heard snoring. "Kannami?"

Rei smiled as she saw Shinji sleeping peacefully.

Kaworu and Yamato, who'd been observing from one of the rooftops, both saw the victory the Evas had over the Angel.

"And I thought I would have to intervene," the Orochi-ken user stated.

"How astounding," stated Kaworu honestly. "SEELE believed that human evolution has halted. Clearly it hasn't."

"Humans are always evolving with every second that passes, Tabris," said Yamato. "As long as we don't give up and our spirit is strong, there is no wall we cannot climb or obstacle we cannot break through."

"Indeed," Kaworu agreed.

* * *

In the aftermath of the Eleventh Angel attack, things were quick to return to normal. However, Gendo who had planned to hide the attack of the eleventh for a time until he found it useful found he no longer had that option. Now it seemed that allowing the remains of the Jet Alone to be housed in Tokyo-3 was a mistake. However, why the Angel had planned ahead in case of failure was anyone's guess. They usually put everything they had into a single assault. Why change the pattern?

Only Tabris and a golden snake knew that.

Shinji and Rei were exiting a local 7-Eleven. Right now, the GekiJyuKen artist was introducing Rei to the wonders of the frozen beverage known as a Slurpee, one of the chain's most popular products.

When Rei took her first sip of her blueberry flavored Slurpee, she realized she liked the taste.

"Now, Rei," said Shinji cautiously, "Just don't drink too fast or…"

She let out a pained groan and put a hand to her temple.

"…You'll get brain freeze," he finished with a sigh. He then proceeded to put his forehead against hers. "Just relax, Rei. The pain will go away soon."

Rei blushed as she felt his forehead against hers. She felt soothed and comforted by his presence and closed her eyes, enjoying the close contact.

Kensuke and Toji spotted the two and their mouths were agape.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Katsuragi apartment, Asuka and Kannami were enjoying some time alone together. The part German redhead was sitting comfortably on the couch while her boyfriend rested his head in her lap. Anyone who knew Asuka would say she wasn't into gushy romantic things, but that was because she was so closely guarded emotionally. She had opened up to Kannami to allow him deeper into her heart than others. In truth, she liked doing romantic things but just hadn't found a man she could trust that much until recently.

"Feels nice," Kannami smiled as Asuka ran her fingers through his hair.

"I know what my man likes," Asuka smirked softly.

"Hey, Asuka, wanna know a secret?" asked Kannami.

"What kind of secret?" smiled Asuka.

"A little secret about my past," replied Kannami. Asuka nodded. "Not even Ikari-kun knows this, but I think I can trust you with it. Well, remember how I said I was the first person Shishi-jii and Mele-chan taught? Well that was kind of a lie."

"What do you mean?" asked Asuka.

"I was more like the first student to listen. There was one student before me, and let's just say he wasn't happy to be replaced." He pointed at the scar that ran over his right eye. "You see this scar? This wasn't made by a training accident."

"He gave it to you?" gasped Asuka.

"Yep…If it wasn't for Shishi-jii, I'd probably be dead," said Kannami. "Haven't seen him since. Hopefully I won't ever have to…"

* * *

A man stepped off the latest bus into town. He had short, wild black hair and soulless black eyes. Everyone around him was trying to avoid him. He wore a black muscle shirt and black jeans. He had three scars going diagonally across his face. He smiled evilly. "So, that cub is here, huh? Let's see if I can break him even more…"


	20. Summer Festivities

"A summer festival?" Shinji asked. He was sitting in class with Rei, eating lunch, when Kensuke and Toji came over to the pair with the news.

"Yup, it's supposed to be some huge event in Tokyo-2!" said Kensuke.

"Mari would've loved to go…" sighed Toji. She was likely to never walk again after what happened during Shinji's battle with the 3rd Angel.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't want you to be unhappy," stated Rei logically. "She'd want you to enjoy yourself at least, am I wrong?"

"Yeah, and she's been pushing me to ask out Hikari," said Toji.

"She does like you," observed Rei.

"She does!" Toji yelped, blushing.

"Rei, what did we say about being discreet?" Shinji whispered.

"It was a logical conclusion. She makes a lunch box for him every school day since I've been here," answered Rei. She smiled at Shinji. "Just like how you have been doing for me. Since you made lunch for me everyday and you said it was because you liked me."

"Rei…please…" Shinji blushed.

"A festival does sound like a grand idea," said Yamato.

"Hey, Yamato," Shinji greeted.

Yamato and Shinji were civil to each other. The GenJyu Orochi-ken user was polite and never did anything to antagonize him or Kannami. Kannami, however, still hated the golden serpent. The RinJyuKen artist could hold a grudge for a long time.

"I mean, considering how hectic your lives are as Eva pilots you need time to relax," said Yamato. "A wise man once said that 'all work and no play makes for a dull day'."

"Wow, deep," said Kensuke.

"Kannami would disagree with you," Shinji pointed out. "Then again, he just loves to argue with you."

"If he can't use his fists, he uses his words. I just tune him out," Yamato shrugged.

"Yes, he can be loud," agreed Shinji. "Say, summer festivals mean yukatas, right?"

"Yukatas?" Rei blinked.

"Yeah, yukatas!" grinned Kensuke.

"Rei, we're going yukata shopping," said Shinji.

* * *

Asuka, Rei, Shinji and Kannami were heading down to the department store. When Shinji told them the plan, Asuka wanted to see what a Japanese summer festival was like.

"Basically, a yukata is like a kimono, only less complicated and made with lighter material," explained Shinji. "Easy to move around in."

"You also don't need to wear underwear," added Kannami, grinning.

"Pervert," muttered Asuka, blushing a little.

"Anyway…this place should have a huge selection," said Shinji. "Let's go!"

Once inside, the girls began to pick and select their yukatas. Shinji and Kannami sat down on a bench, waiting.

"So, heard you were being chummy with the snake," said Kannami.

"Look, he may practice GenJyuKen, but I think he's on the level. He has no reason to try that crap Long attempted," Shinji retorted. "And plus he's been nothing but nice."

"Why don't you marry him?" spat Kannami.

Shinji glared back. "Kannami, you should drop this grudge you have against him. It's not healthy. He was right. He was only defending himself when we attacked him. It was our fault."

Kannami scoffed.

"Hey, boys! Check us out!" posed Asuka in her yukata. She'd chosen an orange one with red hibiscus flowers on it. Rei was wearing a blue yukata, decorated by cherry blossoms. Around Asuka's waist was a blue obi sash. Rei's obi sash was colored pink.

"Wow…you girls look great!" Shinji admitted.

"Great? Just great? Red, you look awesome!" Kannami gave two thumbs up.

Asuka blushed, hiding her face behind her sleeve. She'd been praised before by her beauty, but when Kannami did it, she just couldn't help but feel all giddy inside. Rei was smiling too, blushing, as Shinji admired her. He thought she was beautiful.

The boys, being gentlemen, paid for both yukatas. The festival in Tokyo-2 would be in three days, on Saturday. Nothing would go wrong.

* * *

Kannami, Asuka, Shinji and Rei decided to go get some ice cream when all of a sudden they heard screaming.

"What the hell!" Asuka exclaimed as she saw people fleeing from the opposite direction.

"Is it an Angel?" Rei asked.

"No, it isn't," said Shinji, pointing.

"No way…Rinshi?" Kannami gaped.

What came hopping towards them, garbed in brown tunics over their black clothing, were the Rinshi. They had pale white skin and over the upper half of their faces were masks.

Back when the GekiJyuKen and RinJyuKen schools were at war against each other, the Rinshi were the RinJyuKen's schools foot soldiers. They weren't very strong, but their strength was in their numbers. They were armed in spears, hopping around, attacking anything that moves.

"Rinshi? What are Rinshi?" Asuka asked.

"Hopping martial arts zombies," Kannami summarized. That was what Rinshi technically were. They were the long dead RinJyuKen artists who were revived. While weak, once they were deemed worthy, the Rinshi could evolve into Rinrinshi with terrifying Beast-Man forms based on the Beast-Fist they'd mastered.

"But the original GekiRangers wiped them out," said Shinji.

"Apparently, someone revived them, again," Kannami replied. "Ikari-kun, let's go!"

"Alright, Rukawa-dono!" Shinji agreed.

"Hey, what about us?" Asuka questioned.

"Get to safety, and help out any stragglers," answered Shinji.

"Shinji, be careful." Rei gave him a kiss for good luck.

"And don't get killed," Asuka told Kannami.

Kannami nodded.

"Beast On!" Shinji called out.

"Rinki Gaiso!" called out Kannami.

Geki and Rinki exploded off their bodies as they dashed towards the Rinshi army. They were donned in their respective armors and quickly leapt into action. Splitting the group in two, the two Beast-Fist artists engaged them.

"Hah!" Using straight punches, QB-Rukawa knocked the Rinshi onto their backs. Some thrust their spears at him but he caught them into his hands before tossing the Rinshi into the air. He then leapt and kicked the two Rinshi, sending them flying.

Meanwhile, GekiWing was using the Muay Thai-like Wolf-ken technique passed onto him by Gou. He used elbow strikes, knee strikes and jump kicks, knocking the Rinshi away. "Yosh!" He called on his weapons. In one hand he held a, "GekiFan!" and in the other he held a "GekiSaber!" Using them he slashed at swiped at the Rinshi, causing sparks to fly as they fell.

The defeated Rinshi 'died' and turned into dust which blew in the one. There were still more though. QB-Rukawa and GekiWing could not let them get away.

"Ro Ro Dan!" GekiWing called, conjuring a wolf made of violet Geki and sending it pouncing upon the Rinshi.

"Goyu Koha!" QB-Rukawa unleashed his Rinki in the form of a black lion, which mauled the Rinshi.

Once the Rinshi were gone, Shinji and Kannami dismissed their transformations. They didn't wear smiles of victory. Instead, they wore troubling frowns on their faces.

* * *

"You were attacked!" Misato cried out after hearing what had happened during the pilots' shopping trip. They were in her apartment, sitting at the dining table as Shinji prepared dinner.

"Yeah, you should've seen it," said Asuka. "Kannami and Shinji kicked ass!" She had to admit it, that the two male pilots were good at what they did.

"While they were busy engaging the enemy, Pilot Sohryu and I helped the stragglers escape the area," said Rei.

"Actually, they didn't know we were there," corrected Shinji from the kitchen. "We attacked them, but only because they were attacking innocent people."

"They would've attacked us anyway, Ikari-kun," remarked Kannami. "They were attacking anything that moved."

"And once again Section-2 fails to do its job," sighed Misato. "So, I heard you guys are going to Tokyo-2 for a summer festival, right?"

"Yep!" grinned Asuka. "It's gonna be fun!"

"Indeed," smiled Rei. "Shinji has told me he's attended such events in the past and they were most enjoyable."

"Yeah…they are," Misato recalled the few festivals she'd gone to when she was a kid. "So, can I see those yukatas?"

* * *

"Worthless Rinshi," the man who'd planned the Rinshi attack grumbled. "Well, at least the cub and his friend haven't been lax in their training." He grinned. "Things are about to become very interesting…very interesting indeed."

* * *

The next day, at school, Toji finally got the nerve to ask Hikari out. "Hikari, would you like to go with me to the summer festival?" He basically blurted it out in the class. All eyes turned towards the jock and Class Rep before whistling was heard.

Blushing, the pigtailed and freckled girl answered, "Yes, I will, Toji."

Toji smiled.

"You go, Toji!" Kensuke cheered.

"You couldn't get a date, huh, four eyes?" Kannami teased. Kensuke's shoulders slumped and he looked downcast.

"No…" he groaned.

Yamato sat in his seat, reading, while smiling at the scene. He'd talked to Kaworu about the festival and the albino boy seemed intrigued about the idea of a summer festival.

* * *

Saturday came and the four pilots were waiting for the train which would take them to Tokyo-2. Misato offered to drive them, but the quartet didn't want to end up car sick with Misato driving them.

As the train stopped, they boarded. It was crowded so they had to stand with the other commuters. Shinji had his arms around Rei securely, holding her close. Asuka was pressed up against Kannami's chest, enjoying the feeling of his hard and manly muscles.

They reached Tokyo-2 station and disembarked, headed towards the venue of the festival. As expected, vendors were already setting their stands up for business. Cooking could be smelled as takoyaki, yakisoba and barbequed skewered squid were being made. Some vendors chose to sell sweets like cotton candy or even choco-banana (chocolate covered bananas). There were stands selling souvenirs like masks. Game stands were also set up for the people's enjoyment. Colorful lanterns were also hung all around, making for a beautiful sight.

The stands lined the wide path, and the pilots could see many people visiting said stands for what they had to offer.

Shinji heard there was going to be a fireworks show too and looked forward to it. He wanted to watch it with Rei.

"So, which stand do we hit first?" Kannami asked.

* * *

The pilots were enjoying themselves at the festival, Rei discovering the joys of cotton candy while Kannami treated Asuka to a candied apple. Both girls were hugging their men's arms tightly, making it very obvious to any would-be poachers that the male Eva pilots were taken and happily so.

"I win again!"

"Hm?" Shinji blinked. "What's that?"

Turning to the source of the commotion, the four saw Kensuke shooting up a storm at the air rifle target range. Beside him were numerous small prizes which he had won as he worked his way towards the bigger ones. Next to him and failing dismally was Toji who was attempting to win something for Hikari who seemed to be finding it quite flattering that he was trying so hard. Giggling next to her big brother with a bag of popcorn was none other than Mari, confined to a wheelchair but dressed up in the cutest yukata.

"Oh, hello!" Hikari waved at the four pilots.

"Hey, Hikari," smiled Asuka.

Toji and Kensuke looked up from the target range and their jaws dropped. Asuka and Rei, in yukatas! Such a sight was unbelievable and here they were staring at the 'Ice Queen' and 'Red Devil', grinning happily with Shinji and Kannami. Shinji's eyes went towards Mari. He recalled why Toji had attacked him on his first day at school. Approaching the wheelchair-bound girl, he knelt down. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. I should've been more careful."

Mari was surprised. "So, you're the one who drove that big robot?"

"Yeah," Shinji admitted, still downcast.

"You saved our lives," Mari said to him. He stared. "If you didn't beat that monster then everyone would be dead. Thank you, Pilot-san!"

Shinji couldn't help but smile, but he still felt sorry. "Mari, I'll try and help you too."

"How about you win me a prize?" asked Mari.

Shinji picked up an air rifle and smiled. "Sure." He put his money on the counter. Kannami soon joined him. "Rukawa-dono?"

"Hey, I wanna win a prize for Red," Kannami remarked. "Got a problem with that?" Always the competitive one, Kannami was.

"Just don't be a sore loser," Shinji retorted.

Kannami scoffed, "Yeah, right!"

The two male pilots took aim and fired.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yamato and Kaworu were also at the festival. Kaworu found the entire thing interesting and entertaining, trying everything at least once. Yamato found his friend's child-like innocence almost fascinating as he too tried out the food around the place.

Yamato spotted the pilots at the target range. He knew Shinji wouldn't attack him on sight. Kannami, however, was another issue. If Kannami spotted him, then things would break out into a violent brawl, ruining the festival for everyone.

* * *

Rei smiled as she hugged the white teddy bear Shinji had gotten for her. Asuka was also carrying a cute stuffed tiger doll. As promised, Shinji had gotten Mari the panda bear. The pilots went from stand to stand, savoring treats. Rei found that she liked the chocolate-covered banana but Shinji blushed as she ate it in the way that was suggestive. She actually licked the chocolate off before finally eating the banana. Shinji felt his pants tighten a little.

Next, they tried goldfish scooping. The paper in the scoops that Rei and Asuka used kept ripping. However, Shinji and Kannami had little trouble in scooping their respective goldfish. They didn't stop, however. It turned into a contest to see who could scoop up the most goldfish between them. Asuka and Rei had to drag them away and had them return the extra goldfish because the vendor was going to lose business if they continued. They were paying only for the scoops and the two used them so well that the single scoop they used never tore.

**

* * *

**

Asuka and Kannami parted ways with Rei and Shinji. Both couples needed some private alone time. Rei and Shinji both sat upon a bench to rest their feet. The blue-haired girl leaned against Shinji, smiling. This was her first ever experience at a summer festival. She never had a chance before because of Gendo stunting her social growth. She never had the desire to go before she met Shinji. She never knew how bright and beautiful lanterns and fireworks were.

"I'm glad I met you," said Rei.

"Rei…" Shinji blushed at the way she was smiling at him.

"You've shown me so much, and done so much for me. The Commander only gave me what I needed to survive. You, however, gave me what I needed to truly live. You didn't have any reason to be so kind to me. You didn't have a selfish reason or personal agenda. You were kind to me simply because you are. You are the kindest person I have ever met."

Shinji denied, "That's not really true. I just wanted to get back at the Commander for what he did to me. That was the plan at first but then I…I started…" He couldn't get the words out.

"Shinji, what do you wish to say?" she asked.

"Rei, I…love you so much." He leaned in close. "With all my heart and I want to protect you so you can be with me forever." He then pressed his lips against hers in a deep kiss.

The two broke the kiss reluctantly. "Come on, the fireworks show is about to start," he told her.

**

* * *

**

The fireworks show was about to start, so the pilots quickly took their places. They found a good spot to watch the fireworks. As the fireworks went off, exploding into colorful sparks in the night's sky, Shinji wrapped an arm around Rei's shoulders, pulling her close. This was in fact the first time she had ever seen fireworks. She'd seen explosions, but nothing so beautiful. Asuka had seen them plenty of times in Germany, but to watch them with someone she loved was definitely a treat.

"Kagiya!" Shinji cheered. "Tamaya!"

"Shinji?" Rei asked confused. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just something people shout out when people watch fireworks," explained Shinji. "Try it."

As Rei was about to cheer, there was a loud commotion. They weren't cheers of joy, but cries of fright.

"What the hell?" Kannami looked and he saw them. "Damn it! Rinshi!"

There they were, the Rinshi and they were attacking people who fled in fear of these creatures. Reacting quickly, Shinji and Kannami dashed towards them. A dark figure in the shadows watched.

"Show me what you can do," said the dark figure. He then snapped his fingers.

"Rei, you and Asuka go and take cover!" Shinji instructed. "Better yet, try and help people to evacuate."

"Come on, Ikari-kun," said Kannami, cracking his knuckles. "We have some Rinshi to take care of!"

Rei and Asuka watched them go, with the former whispering, "Shinji, be careful."

"Come on, First!" Asuka ordered. "We have to help get people out of here!"

* * *

Gendo was sitting in his office, watching as the pilots enjoyed themselves at the summer festival. Rei was growing farther and farther from his reach and control. The kiss he saw the 1st and 3rd Children share made him feel sick to the stomach. Somehow, he needed to regain control of the scenario.

He didn't care what the 2nd and 4th Children did. As long as they performed their duty, that was all that mattered.

He then saw the Rinshi appear. He'd seen them appear before and had sent for answers. He wondered who had control of these creatures. They seemed link to both the 4th and 3rd Children as they fought back with their Beast-Fists.

He continued to watch with deep interest. This might prove useful.

* * *

Kannami dusted off his hands, snorting, "Cannon fodder! Nothing but weak cannon fodder!"

Shinji didn't voice out his agreement, but Kannami was right. The Rinshi were weak. It was just fortunate that they weren't Rinrinshi who could assume monstrous Beast-Man forms.

"We should find the girls," said Shinji.

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Kannami.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion of energy that blew Kannami and Shinji away. The two landed roughly on the ground before rolling. When they stopped, they groaned as they picked themselves up.

"What was that!" Kannami demanded.

Shinji focused ahead of him and saw who'd attacked them. "I'm guessing he's the one."

"My name is Grizzaka!" the newcomer declared. The warrior, who identified himself as Grizzaka, was 6 feet tall and covered from head to toe in armor. His armor was completely black and had a bear motif. Armor in the shade of bear paws rested on his shoulders and he had a snarling bear's face on his chest. Hanging from his belt were flaps of armor in the shape of bear paws. His helmet was bear-like with a red visor in between the 'jaws' with sharp teeth around the edges.

"You had fun with my Rinshi, as I recall," said Grizzaka.

"They were yours!" Shinji shouted furiously.

Grizzaka laughed, "Guilty as charged!"

Shinji and Kannami's only response was to transform.

"Rinki Gaiso!"

"Beast On!"

"Let's play," said Grizzaka and in an instant he rushed at the two Beast-Fist users, slamming his fists straight into QB-Rukawa and GekiWing's chests, sending them flying straight through several stands, splintering wood. "Heh!" Grizzaka snickered.

Rukawa and GekiWing managed to climb back to their feet. "He's fast," said GekiWing, groaning.

"Yeah, and tough," said QB-Rukawa. He felt the blow through his armor.

With silent agreements they both charged at Grizzaka who just stood in their path. They began to throw their attacks at their opponent who effortlessly dodged and blocked their attacks with ease. He used his forearms and shins to block them before grabbing GekiWing by the fist, twisting it, before nailing him in the stomach, sending him staggering back. GekiWing collapsed to his knees, clutching his stomach.

QB-Rukawa focused on his opponent when all of sudden claws sprang out from Grizzaka's knuckles. They were blade-like and looked REALLY sharp. "Take this!" Grizzaka roared. He unleashed a flurry of furious slashes upon QB-Rukawa, causing sparks to fly off the RinJyuKen user's chest. QB-Rukawa cried out in pain.

"Rukawa-dono!" GekiWing launched himself into the air. "GekiHammer!" He summoned the meteor hammer weapon and sent the ball-shaped hammer flying at Grizzaka. Caught the chain attached to the hammer in his hand before giving it a tug. GekiWing was pulled and his helmet-covered face met with the sole of Grizzaka's foot. The helmet cracked. Then, Grizzaka pulled GekiWing up with the chain before slamming him to the ground, all the while slashing at QB-Rukawa savagely. He then pulled GekiWing up again and used him like a baseball bat, swatting QB-Rukawa in the side with his own friend and watching as they went tumbling clumsily.

"Damn…" GekiWing cursed. His visor was broken so his eyes were exposed. "You okay?" GekiWing asked.

"I had better days," groaned QB-Rukawa. "We have to hit him with everything we got."

GekiWing nodded and the two rose to their feet. Grizzaka crossed his arms across his chest and watched as his opponents summoned up their ki.

"Gekiwaza!" GekiWing called out.

"Ringi!" QB-Rukawa called out.

"GEKI GEKI JYU HOU/RIN KENMA HOU!" the two called in unison, firing their animal-shaped aura-like missiles at Grizzaka.

"Hmph!" Grizzaka waited for the attacks to come and with a single swipe shattered them.

"No…no way," GekiWing gaped.

"Impossible**,**" QB-Rukawa gawked in disbelief.

"My turn," said Grizzaka and then he thrust his hands at them. Purple lightning lanced out and struck both QB-Rukawa and GekiWing. They both screamed as they were being electrocuted. Closing his fists, Grizzaka watched as the two Beast-Fist artists collapsed, their transformations failing them. "Now…die!" He fired a ball of purple and black energy at them, only for a golden figure to jump right in and bat it away. Grizzaka glared at the new arrival. "Who are you?"

His armor was scaled like a snake's and covered his body. The knees were capped with snake heads, as were the shoulders and gauntlets. The chest had a snake head on the front and the helmet had a snake motif with a red visor. A white ponytail ran down the back of the helmet like a roman legionnaire. Finally, a red cape hung from the shoulders. "GenJyu Orochi-ken. Yamato…Yamato no Orochi."

"GenJyuKen, huh?" sneered Grizzaka.

"That's right, and I'm here to even the odds." Yamato no Orochi knelt over Kannami and Shinji. He spoke to them, "I know you don't trust me, but I'm here to help." Placing his hands on them, he began to heal them with his Mythical Ki. Both Kannami and Shinji felt revitalized as Grizzaka watched with interest.

"2 against 1 or 3 against 1, it doesn't matter to me," boasted Grizzaka. "I'll kill you all!"

"We'll see," said Yamato. "You two, henshin!"

Kannami gave Yamato a look that said, 'don't order me around,' but complied anyway. "Rinki Gaiso!"

"Beast On!" Shinji called.

Now back in armor, GekiWing and QB-Rukawa stood on either side of Yamato with him in between them. They took on their stances before dashing straight towards Grizzaka. The trio attacked furiously, forcing Grizzaka on the defensive as he blocked and dodged. He managed to swipe Yamato across the chest but then Yamato grabbed his arms, allowing GekiWing and QB-Rukawa to kick him violently in the stomach, sending him skidding backwards. Yamato flicked his wrist and rushed with his signature move. "Gengi: Hachi Hebi Ha!" He cupped his palms together and then he fired a stream of energy at Grizzaka in the shape of a snake's head. When it struck, Grizzaka was bitten by the energy snake. Grizzaka retaliated by slammed his palms on the ground, causing it to break and fly apart in pieces. The pieces of stone were then launched at the trio like missiles as Grizzaka used palm strikes to send them flying towards his targets.

Summoning the Geki Fans, GekiWing used them to blow the flying debris away from them. QB-Rukawa used this as an opening and fired a, "Raigo Dan!" hitting Grizzaka in the chest. He cried out as an explosion of sparks erupted from his chest.

"That's it…THAT'S IT!" Grizzaka roared. "RINGI: DORINKI HOU!"

"Dorinki!" QB-Rukawa reacted in shock when he heard this.

The bear's face on Grizzaka's chest roared as he unleashed his attack. It was a wide beam of Dorinki that slammed into the trio with the force of an atomic bomb. They were sent flying, transformations undone, before landing roughly on the ground. There was a deep trench right between them and Grizzaka, caused by the Dorinki beam.

Grizzaka scowled before turning away in disgust. He would finish them off some other time. He then disappeared into the night.

* * *

Kamen Rider Chrome: A new enemy shows his face, and he seems to have a connection with Kannami. Boy, things are gonna become much more difficult than before. What is the full extent of the JyuKen trio's injuries? Will they be crippled by their defeat? Stay tuned and wait for the next chapter!


	21. Training Camp

_Rei sat in shadows as she watched the forms of GekiWing and Grizzaka clash against each other. It would have been an inspirational battle were it not so terrifying and that GekiWing was losing. The GekiSabers were bent beyond repair, the GekiHammer shattered and useless, and the GekiFans torn to shreds. The weapons lay around the battlefield like trash, forcing GekiWing to battle hand to hand…a losing battle._

_"You need better than that to beat me," Grizzaka snarled. Rei witnessed as a cloud-like violet aura surrounded Grizzaka, accompanied by bolts of lightings that seemed to slither around his form. He locked his eyes at the black-clad GekiRanger and charged, his claws out as he threw his attack at GekiWing._

_Rei gasped as the blade-like claws ran GekiWing right through. The cruel RinJyuKen user then withdrew his claws and sent GekiWing flying with a powerful kick. In mid-air, GekiWing instantly exploded. What dropped out of the cloud of smoke and flames was none other than his cracked helmet…_

* * *

Rei gasped as she sat abruptly awake. She panted and her body was slick with cold sweat. Her eyes were wide and wet with tears and her blue pyjamas were stuck to her wet skin. Her heart thundered in her chest as she felt incredible terror run through her from that terrifying night vision.

"Shinji!" Rei got out of her futon and ran out the room she shared with Asuka. She entered Shinji's room and was relieved to see him asleep in his futon. Panting in relief, she quickly made her way to Shinji's side and slipped underneath the futon covers with him. She had been told that such actions were improper between a male and a female, but Rei and Shinji were in an intimate relationship and this Rei felt she could at least share Shinji's bed, especially now in her time of emotional insecurity.

It had been a week since the summer festival and it'd been unforgettable in the worst possible way. Shinji, Kannami and Yamato had faced an enemy together and lost. No matter what they did, this Grizzaka had been able to overpower them from the very start. He had the advantage but never bothered to finish them off, as if they weren't worth his time. All three of the artists were battered and bruised with Yamato being the only one of the three who was conscious.

After Grizzaka left, Rei had called for assistance for all three of the fighters. Yamato, however, had disappeared by the time help came and took the two injured pilots/JyuKen artists to NERV's hospital wing. Rei had ridden into the ambulance that carried Shinji while Asuka rode in the other one with Kannami. Both girls fretted over the pair and worried themselves until Dr. Akagi reassured them that both Shini and Kannami would be okay.

The two had various injuries, all external. Thankfully, their armoured forms were able to protect them from severe injury or worse. The two were still being treated with bandages all over their upper bodies. They didn't regain consciousness until 4 days later where Kannami explained to them what Dorinki was…

-FLASHBACK-

_Both Shinji and Kannami were covered in bandages, indicating just how badly injured they were. The medical team from NERV were astounded that for all the destruction caused according to witnesses, the boys had gotten off so lightly. Even more surprising to them was how Yamato managed to get away under his own power._

"_Kannami, just what did that guy do?" asked Asuka, using the RinJyuKen user's actual name, indicating how serious she was being. "It looked kind of like Rinki but..." she trailed off, remembering how dark and just so...hateful, that aura seemed to be._

"_Dorinki," Kannami and Shinji answered at the same time._

"_What?" asked Rei._

_Kannami explained, "Dorinki is power based on pure burning rage. You surrender everything. Happiness, love, until there is nothing left but rage and hate. You give up everything for power. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to undergo the training myself."_

-END FLASHBACK-

Rei shivered at the thought of how Dorinki was achieved. How could someone reject all positive emotions and simply focus on their rage and hate like that until that was all they had? True, Grizzaka had been powerful but the price he paid was simply too high, at least in her honest opinion. Positive emotions like happiness and joy shouldn't be thrown away. Then there was love and she gazed down on Shinji's sleeping face.

She hadn't eaten nor slept and stayed at his bedside until he awoke. She just wanted to hear his voice again and make her smile once more. As Shinji was recovering, having not yet regained consciousness, the commander had ordered Rei to give a report. In the past, Rei had been quite fond of the commander for his role in raising her, but after meeting Shinji that faded into a kind of disillusionment, seeing first hand the kinds of effects his manipulations had on others. During that report though, it turned to solid disgust since the man didn't seem to care one bit about what had happened to his own son. In fact, he seemed more interested in who had done it.

-FLASHBACK-

_Rei didn't want to do it, but she didn't have much of a choice but to report what had occurred during the festival. Dutifully, even if not happily reporting the efforts of the JyuKen fighters to battle Grizzika and ended up failing. Gendo was especially interested in her description of the Dorinki and how it seemed to boost Grizzika's power. The elder Ikari didn't even bat an eye as Rei listed the injuries the three fighters received and instead listened more intently to how the fighters failed._

"_I see, so this Grizzaka creature was able to defeat the 3__rd__ and 4__th__ Children along with that snake martial artist," said Gendo after listening._

_Rei didn't even have to guess that Gendo was beginning to plan something. She knew him too well. Grizzika had managed to achieve his interest and now he was going to do something about it. Rei was simply glad when the commander dismissed her, fearing she might have snapped if she had to watch the calculating eyes any longer._

-END FLASHBACK-

She'd given the commander a cold glare before she dismissed herself from his office. She just wanted to be with Shinji and wait for him so she could feel the warmth of his love again. A few tears fell from her eyes and they dripped upon Shinji's fskin. He twitched a little and he slowly opened his eyes to see Rei, crying. "Rei?" He slowly sat up. "What's wrong?" He still had bandages around his forearms and around his neck. He had worn a neck brace until recently and had to wear an eye patch to cover his bruised eye. Now, he just had the bandages to cover his bruises body. He put his hands gently on her shoulders and grunted when she suddenly buried her face into his chest, arms wrapped tightly around him. "Rei?"

"Shinji, don't ever leave me!" she demanded. "Promise me!"

"Rei…I promise," he told her. He could tell just how badly shaken she still was over the Grizzika incident. Asuka had reported that Rei had trouble sleeping some nights, no doubt because of nightmares she had been dealing with concerning the incident. From a girl who had never had a dream in her life before, the nightmares must have been especially terrifying.

"Promise me one other thing," she requested, catching Shinji's attention.

"Anything."

"If you ever see that Grizzaka again, just run away. Don't fight him, just run away. I don't want to see you getting hurt like that again!"

-FLASHBACK-

_Shinji and Kannami had been taken to NERV's hospital wing to be treated for their injuries. Yamato had mysteriously vanished after the battle. When Asuka and Rei were allowed to go see them, Rei saw that Shinji had endured injuries similar to her own when they first met, with bandages wrapped around their bodies._

"_Miraculously, despite the bruising showing they took hard hits, they didn't break any bones," said Dr. Akagi. "Although in some cases it may have been better if they did. I swear if they were hit any harder we would have to deal with internal bleeding and ruptured organs."_

_It was all Rei could do not to burst out crying. Only Asuka clenching her hand, unconsciously seeking strength from her kept her from doing so._

-END FLASHBACK-

Kannami was in his apartment, hitting a punching bag. Ever since he'd woken up, he'd done nothing but train. Asuka had barely heard from him and she was getting worried. He'd allowed her into his apartment, but aside from letting her in, he hadn't stopped. She sat bac on one of his benches and watched him train himself. While she had to admit that his training clothes gave off a nice view of his muscles, the look on his face didn't suit him at all. It was intense and filled with anger, something she found that she didn't want to see on his face…ever.

The redheaded German decided that she had seen enough of her man working out and went to distract him.

"Hey, Kannami, let's go out!"

"Can't, gotta train, gotta get stronger," replied Kannami, almost like a machine. "Can't let that bastard beat me again..."

"But you can't do nothing but train," she protested.

"It's all I can do," said Kannami, increasing the power of his punches. "That guy beat me, beat us, and I can't let that happen again. I _won't_ let it happen again. Being strong is all I've got. If I'm not the strongest guy around, I'm nothing."

Asuka listened and was shown once again just how much she and Kannami had in common. To her, Eva and being a pilot was everything. If she couldn't be a pilot, she was nothing. Kannami valued his power and strength. Neither of them found much worth in themselves outside of what they held highest of all. Still, Asuka liked to think she had found something else to care about outside of Eva…

"Then you can't train alone," said Asuka. "NERV has a training facility with state of the art equipment and you can ask Shinji to help." She grinned. "Heck, I'll even use Unit 02 to stomp on that guy if you want."

"No!" roared Kannami. He punched the bag, knocking it off the chain and sending it flying. The sight made Asuka gulp, not expecting such an explosive show of strength. "It has to be me! I need to be the one to beat him! It won't mean a thing if I don't beat him with my own fists! I swear, next time I fight him, I'm either going to kill him, or I'm not walking away…"

"You can't just get yourself killed for this!"

"Doesn't matter," replied Kannami. "It's not like I can do much else."

"Actually…" began Asuka, blushing. "We could…sleep together."

Kannami gave her a surprised stare. It certainly made the anger vanish from his face as a blush and look of surprise replaced it. Asuka knew she was probably having her face match her hair, but she had already said it. So now she would just have to follow through.

"Nothing serious!" she insisted. "Not sex! Just…sleeping together, that's all." Rei had told her that sleeping with Shinji calmed her. Maybe that was true for Kannami as well.

"I'll think about it," he replied, although he really couldn't see himself turning down his fraulein.

* * *

That night, Asuka called Misato and told her that she was staying at Kannami's. After giving the standardized adult lecture of being responsible and the whole nine yards, Misato teased Asuka mercilessly of attempting to seduce the 4th child so that she could officially claim her man. The spiel of German which Shinji could hear through the phone clear across the room indicated that Misato got to the fiery pilot. It gave the purple-haired major a good laugh for the night as she filled up on booze.

In the night, Rei instantly paid Shinji a visit and snuggled under the covers with him. She held him tightly and seemed to be breathing easily, his presence making any and all nightmares go away. Shinji didn't mind the company. He loved Rei and being with her for any length of time was a treasure to him.

As much as he wanted to enjoy her presence though, he just couldn't. Not with Grizzika still on his mind. The man was a menace, using the old RinJyuKen Akugata to attack them and use the screams of misery from the people to make himself stronger. How he managed to revive the rinshi, Shinji had no idea, but that wasn't the main point. Grizzika was on a level higher than either Kannami, Shinji, or even Yamato were on. He was capable of taking all three of them down with what seemed to be minimal effort. He couldn't let that continue.

In his own apartment, Kannami lay back with Asuka cuddling close. She seemed to be having a restful sleep for a change and not one filled with nightmares about her mother. As he lay awake, he idly played with Asuka's hair, one of his favourite parts of her body. He'd either play with a strand of it or run his fingers gently through it, drawing lines on her back at the same time which seemed to make her hum in her sleep. As peaceful as he looked though, he was still mad. Grizzika had demolished him and made him look weak. Kannami refused to let the Bear-ken user get away with that insult. He didn't train himself up the level he was at for nothing dammit!

With that common thought in mind, both JyuKen artists made a decision.

* * *

One morning, when Rei went to wake Shinji up, she saw that his futon was empty and all that he left was a note. "Shinji?" She picked up the note and read it. Her eyes widened.

"VERDAMMIT!"

Asuka's enraged scream which echoed across the building indicated that she had received similar notice.

* * *

In a forest outside of Tokyo-3, Shinji, Yamato and Kannami were setting up camp. The area had been used by Yamato as a spot for him to live since he didn't have much taste for Tokyo-3 itself but close enough for him to see any serious action since Angels were pretty hard to miss. It had enough space to train and feel like they were in wide open spaces. It likewise had enough tree cover to hide from the odd overhead flyby which would come in or out of Tokyo-3. Kannami and Shinji had tracked down the GenJyuKen user to his campsite, both sporting heavy packs filled with camping gear and supplies. Both GekiJyuKen and RinJyuKen martial artists had a common request to make of the golden serpent.

"Why should I train together with you two?" asked Yamato. "Last I heard you both made it rather clear what your opinion was of me. I would think that being separate from you two would have been a smarter choice considering our history."

"Look, I don't like you and I know the feeling's mutual," Kannami said to Yamato, "But Ikari-kun and I talked about this and we think that we should all work together. Grizzika is a huge threat right now and we need to prepare to take him down."

"A most reasonable offer," said Yamato, nodding.

"The original GekiRangers are a team," said Shinji. "So we have to be a team as well, a Triangle, a Trinity."

"The Kenma were a Trinity as well," said Kannami. "As much as they wanted to get away from the founding principles of JyuKen which developed into GekiJyuKen, they couldn't do it completely. The link is still there. The Kenma knew this and stuck with being a trio."

"And the original GekiRangers began as a trio as well," added Shinji.

"Your point is made," Yamato nodded. "I'm not so blinded by my pride to refuse admitting that Grizzika is beyond my current level either. I accept the offer and you both can use my living space to help train. I propose we begin immediately though. There's no telling when Grizzika or an Angel are going to make an appearance."

"The Angels are easy to handle, they've got Red and Blue," Kannami shrugged, slipping his pack off of his back.

"Speaking of them, you told Asuka what you were planning to do, right?" asked Shinji.

"I left a note," Kannami answered. "Told her what I was going to do and then packed and left. You?"

"I did the same with Rei," Shinji nodded. "I didn't say where we were going to be though. I don't want Section 2 to interrupt our training so to drag us back to Tokyo-3."

"I'd honestly like to see them try that," Yamato chuckled.

* * *

"Damn it, Shinji," Misato cursed. Shinji had just gone AWOL and according to the note he was not alone. Kannami was with him. "What are you thinking?"

Asuka had tried to call Kannami and got no answer. She was angry at Kannami or leaving without telling her. Rei was also upset but not angry at Shinji. She understood.

"They want to become stronger so they can defeat Grizzaka," reasoned Rei.

"Well, they can just train in NERV's gym!" shouted Asuka, scowling. "We got the equipment!"

"Shinji once told me that JyuKen artists need to be close to nature so their animal spirits can feel at home," Rei informed the 2nd Child. "That's why they can't train in the gym. Not enough nature."

Asuka still didn't like it.

* * *

It was a three-way spar between the three JyuKen Artists as their respective battle aura flared around them. Shinji's aura was violet while Kannami was a darkish red and Yamato's was gold. They clashed with explosive force, using the moves they'd been trained to execute. The sounds of limbs connecting sounded like thunderclaps as they collided with such force, causing birds to fly into the air in surprise upon hearing them.

They were not only sparing, but studying each other. After this session, weaknesses in their techniques would be discussed. Kannami still didn't like his weaknesses, which he denied vehemently having, being pointed out by Shinji and even more by Yamato but they needed to do this and work together to beat Grizzaka.

* * *

Speaking of Grizzaka, he stood atop a tall building as he overlooked the city of Tokyo-3. He'd heard tales of Angels. Supposedly they were messengers of God who came to annihilate the corruption of humanity. He heard it from enough fanatic cults already. He didn't believe it. He did believe that Angels were pure power given shape and form, not unlike Rinki and Dorinki. He wondered if an Angel could be tamed and controlled?

Standing behind Grizzaka was a Rinrinshi, an evolved Rinshi. It wore no mask and had a talisman signifying its beast-fist style on its forehead. However, revived Rinrisnhi were just mindless slaves to his will as he controlled them like puppets. When released into their Beast-Man forms, they would become mindless berserkers, filled with rage, hatred and the urge to destroy.

"Nagiu of the RinJyu Eel-Ken," said Grizzaka. "Transform, grow and attack!"

Nagiu spoke, "Jujin Jashin Hen. Jashin Goten Hen."

* * *

When the alarms blared, it wasn't because of an Angel but the threat was still massive. They saw it on the screen. It was a humanoid creature that was mostly blue with an eel's head stretched across his chest.

"Are you sure it's not an Angel?" Misato asked.

"It doesn't have the same energy pattern," Ritsuko confirmed, "But it's still a huge threat like them. At this rate, it'll destroy Tokyo-3."

"And none of us want that. Guess we have no choice. Launch the Evangelions!"

* * *

Asuka and Rei were in Units 02 and 00 respectively, gripping the controls with nothing but determination. As the two biomechanical giants were launched, they focused on the task at hand. They had been informed that the threat they were facing was no Angel. However, that didn't make it any less dangerous as it was tearing up the city, not to mention it was sliming up the place.

As the two Evas faced their opponent, Asuka scowled in disgust. She then shouted, "LET'S MAKE SUSHI!"

Unit 02 ran ahead and with a straight punch at Nagiu's head, she attempted to knock him onto his ass. However, her fist just slid off as it made contact. "THE HELL!" she screamed. Nagiu then sent her Eva falling backwards as it slipped on some slime on the ground.

"It would appear that this creature has been coated with a lubricant," Rei informed Asuka.

"Tell me something I don't know Wondergirl!" snapped Asuka.

Meanwhile, at the training camp, Yamato, Shinji and Kannami looked up as they sensed a high amount of Ki. Kannami recognised it instantly. He murmured," RinJyuKen…Rinki…"

"And it's a huge one too," said Yamato. "Like it came from a giant."

"Looks like we have to stop training," said Shinji. "Rukawa-dono, let's go."

"Alright, Ikari-kun."

"Rai Rai Jyu!"

"Shorai Jyu!"

* * *

The two Evas were down and covered in slime. Asuka couldn't believe she was being humiliated by an overgrown sushi platter. It couldn't get any worse.

Actually, it just got worse as she looked at her energy gauges.

Nagiu continued his rampage but shouted as blades of compressed air slashed against him. This was followed by a golden beam of energy that knocked him off his feet.

A roar and screech was heard and Asuka looked up to see a gigantic mechanical lion come charging towards her. Flying above the lion was mechanical bat of near equal size.

"JYUKEN BUSOU!" QB-Rukawa and GekiWing announced.

RinLion combined with Eva-02 as GekiBat combined with Eva-00. The pilots of both Beasts then teleported into the plugs of the Evas. However, since the plugs weren't the ones made for two, QB-Rukawa and GekiWing ended up falling right on top of the girls. QB-Rukawa's face was in her chest.

"Get off me, you jerk!" she shouted at him, blushing red.

"Sorry, Red!" Kannami knew he had a lot of apologizing to do. Asuka was mad and when she got mad she got pretty creative when it came to punishments. He didn't look forward to what she had in store for him.

In Unit 00, Rei was staring at GekiWing impassively. He gulped, frightened. Was she mad about him leaving? He did leave without warning, and with a note no less. She definitely felt hurt he didn't have the nerve to tell her face-to-face.

"You and I will speak after we've dealt with the threat," said Rei. The threat had been spoken in her usual monotone but carried an edge to it.

GekiWing gulped again. Rei was mad. He'd rather face an army of Rinshi than an angry Rei. At least he knew he'd survive the former rather than the latter.

"Where were you two!" Misato shouted, her face appearing on the screens of both plugs.

"Can we talk about this later, Misato?" GekiWing requested as he readjusted his seating, now with Rei in his lap. "We've got an eel to peel."

"That's right," said QB-Rukawa "We'll talk right after this!"

"Do it quick. The Evas are losing power!" said Ritsuko.

"Relax, we know how to deal with this guy," said QB-Rukawa. "Ikari, let's go!"

"Hai, Rukawa!"

The two Evas then reached behind their backs and pulled out what appeared to be towels, as in the fluffy kind one used to dry oneself after a shower.

"Towels? You're going to beat him with towels?" Asuka asked incredulously.

"Everything is training, Asuka!" said GekiWing. "Sides, this guy needs to be dried up!"

The two Beast-equipped Evas then charged. Unit 00 was actually gliding with its new wings. The two giant mechas dodged globs of slime. Unit 02 was actually sliding along the slime on the ground and when he got close it smacked Nagiu in the face with a towel.

"Take this!"

**SMACK!**

**SMACK!**

**SMACK!**

Nagiu was being slapped around by a giant towel.

Back at the bridge in NERV, everyone gawked.

"Reminds me of the towel fights in the showers," said one of the bridge bunnies.

The two Evas then wrapped their towels around Nagiu and started to rub him down. While it didn't look like they were actually fighting, the two rival JyuKen artists had a plan.

They then tossed the towels away, showing that Nagiu was dry and powerless.

"Now we can finish him off!" Rukawa and GekiWing shouted.

**POW!**

An uppercut from Unit 02 sent Nagiu skyward. "Ikari, you're up!"

The bat wings on Unit 00 spread out and the Eva launched itself into the air. "Time to make sushi!" said GekiWing. "Gekiwaza: Dai Bun Bun Sen!" Unit 00 started spinning around and around, straight towards Nagiu. The wings then sliced the gigantic Beast Man to pieces, which turned to dust seconds later.

They had won. Unfortunately, the two Beast Fist martial artists were about to meet a most terrifying opponent yet…female wrath.

* * *

Shinji and Kannaki dismissed their constructs before leaping onto the catwalk around the Evas, their suits vanishing as they did so. Only a few moments later, the entry plugs were removed, allowing Asuka and Rei to exit. The crew and technicians knew what was going to happen next and wanted to stay a fair distance away.

"BAKA!"

WHAM!

"Shinji..."

"Rei."

SMACK!

"Punishment delivered."

The crew members winched as the blows were made. They also made sure not to be near when the stream of angry German and Japanese words came spewing out of the redhead's mouth.

"I think we deserved that," said Kannami.

"So, is it over?" Shinji asked hopefully, rubbing his cheek.

"Ikari-kun, prepare yourself for something humiliating," Kannami cautioned his old friend and rival.

* * *

"This is humiliating…" murmured Kannami.

"Rukawa-dono…" replied Shinji.

"What? It is!"

"Shut up and keep rubbing!" ordered Asuka.

"Yes…" murmured Kannami.

"Yes, what?" Asuka glared.

"Yes, Mistress."

Both Asuka and Rei were lying face down on massage tables while Kannami and Shinji were massaging their respective girlfriends. Both JyuKen artists were topless, showing their muscular (Kannami) and athletic (Shinji) physique. It was good eye candy for the two girls.

Shinji considered this punishment fair for making the girls upset. They had gone off on a training trip without giving proper goodbyes. No wonder Asuka and Rei got pissed. They thought the two boys had abandoned them. At least they came back to help fight Nagiu.

"Hey!" shouted Asuka. Kannami's hand had traveled a bit further south than she had intended and he was now grabbing her rear.

"What?" smiled Kannami. "You said you wanted a _full_-_body_ massage."

* * *

Gendo really wasn't pleased. On one hand the pilots' performance against this monster showed the rest of the world what NERV was capable of. On the other hand, these monsters were sure to jeopardize the scenario. The 3rd Child and 4th Child seemed to possess knowledge of this creature. They were familiar with the method to defeat it, as unorthodox it may seem. Towels. They had used gigantic towels.

He would need to have words with the two JyuKen artists as soon as possible. His scenario was already shot out of the water so he might as well adapt to it.

* * *

**Kamen Rider Chrome: OK, sorry for taking so long to update. Anyway, I hope you like what I've done so far.**


	22. Black Hole Dream

It was another day in Tokyo-3 and as usual what residents hadn't moved out of the city by this point were going about their daily business, but likewise keeping an ear out in case the next Angel decided that this day would be the one when they would invade the city in attempts to destroy everything in existence.

Things were tense, to say the least.

The junior high school was as busy as it ever was. Today the class in which the pilots were participating in was music class. At the beginning of it all of the students picked an instrument to play. Thanks to the unfilled seats, everyone managed to get an instrument they wanted. Rei had picked up a violin, feeling the music it could produce fit her personality. Asuka grabbed a cello, stating that the German composers could make the best music in the world on one so she should be able to do it to. Touji took a saxophone while Kensuke grabbed drums, practically fighting off many other boys for them. Kannami had grabbed a base guitar and strummed to get the tone right while Shinji took a fancy to the piano.

The teacher (again a retiree who was asked to return to the school with the current teacher's quitting) asked each member of the class to play a small tune to see if they knew what they were doing. Rei proved to be a natural at the violin, making a soothing melody almost by instinct. Asuka proved that she could play the cello, but the noise would have made true German composers cringe. Touji and Kensuke proved completely new to their own instruments since the jock had no idea how to blow properly into his mouthpiece while Kensuke just banged away. Kannami proved gifted with the guitar, playing a strong melody which made several girls swoon while Asuka glared at them. Shinji though…

…Shinji played Ride of the Valkyries…

…with his toes…

…while dancing on the piano keys.

Everyone gaped at him.

Asuka gawked, "He's playing the piano…with his toes…" She normally boasted that she could do anything, but not anything like this.

Rei nodded in awe, "If his toes are this talented, I wonder if his fingers are too."

Asuka blushed at the bluenette, "Did you just…?" She trailed off.

Rei looked to Asuka quizzically, "Did I do what?"

Asuka shook her head, "Never mind. You know, if he ever entered a talent contest, I don't think any of the other contestants could match him."

Kensuke gaped, "He's playing…with his toes…"

Toji could only stare, "Dancing…on the keys…"

Hikari was flabbergasted, "How…?"

Kannami chuckled with a grin, "He was trained do be light on his feet."

Shinji finished playing the final set of notes and then jumped off the piano before putting his indoor shoes back on. There was silence, but Rei applauded his performance. The rest of the class, teacher included, were still left gaping at him.

"That was…" the teacher struggled a little to find the right words, "An…_interesting_ performance, Ikari-san. Can you tell me who taught you how to play like that?"

"My family," Shinji answered. He was actually referring to Gou and Retsu who he was closest too. "Did I do something wrong, sensei?"

"No," the teacher answered, still recovering after watching such an unusual display. "It's just, please refrain from playing the piano in an unorthodox manner next time," he advised.

"Oh, alright," Shinji nodded.

"But, despite how you played it, you still managed to play 'Ride of the Valkyries' without missing a note," the teacher said, actually impressed by Shinji's choice of music and how it sounded.

"Thank you, sensei." Shinji then took a seat with the rest of the class who were still staring at him. Well, Kannami just wore a grin and Asuka just sighed and resigned to herself that she would just have to learn to expect the unexpected when it came to Beast Fist artists.

"Showoff," Kannami said to Shinji.

"Yeah, but it was fun," Shinji responded.

"That was beautiful, Shinji," Rei complimented, smiling. It still boggled everyone how Shinji managed to get Rei 'Ice Queen' Ayanami to smile like that. Just with that radiating smile, she looked attractive. Not to say that she wasn't, but people were intimidated by her previously stoic and introverted behavior. Ever since Shinji showed up, he'd changed everything. Not to mention a lot of people were in shock about Rei and Shinji being an item. The teachers, who were used to Rei being quiet until she was called out, were still recovering when she actively raised her hand to answer questions or even ask questions in class.

Another dramatic change was that Shinji and Kannami's early morning brawls often became a focus at school. A lot of school property was damaged. Fortunately, NERV paid for all damages. Actually, Misato paid for the damages using her own money and expected them to pay her back.

Then there was Asuka. She was still an arrogant showoff, but she managed to balance it out with being humble at times whenever she saw the JyuKen artists demonstrate abilities she'd never thought to be possible. There was just no scientific basis. However, she was more accepting of it than Dr. Akagi. That woman was still trying to figure out how the energy was gained and generated. Also, Asuka actually found someone she could go out with. She liked Kaji, sure, but the man didn't see her that way. At least Kannami was able to give her the attention she wanted, and she did like him. He was still able to teach her a few moves and they were a lot alike. They were aggressive and knew what they wanted before going after it.

There was someone missing. Yamato (aka Yamato no Orochi). The GenJyuKen artist who practiced the rare yet deadly Orochi-ken was absent in class. He was also a familiar face during morning brawls. Shinji was, to be honest, pretty civil with the snake but Kannami wasn't. He just couldn't tolerate him outside of training. Sure, they were able to train together, but outside of training Kannami obviously still did not like Yamato. He still wanted to avenge his pride, which Yamato had trounced upon, during their first confrontation. Although, Shinji had to admit it was their fault for jumping to conclusions and attacking Yamato in the first place. He had destroyed the Angel for them and deserved their thanks, not to be attacked out of the blue by two overzealous JyuKen artists from two opposing branches of the same school.

There was a lot of things happening in NERV as well. The assault by the monstrous Nagiu had the NERV staff busy. Originally, they were prepared to face Angels, not random Kaiju. The last battle had been broadcasted on television and it still stunned people that the monster had been defeated with the use of towels. Shinji and Kannami, mostly Kannami, managed to fill in the blanks. Nagiu was a RinJyuKen artist who could assume a monstrous form, similar to Kannmi. Although, Kannami didn't like to be clumped together with those zombies, as he called them. The Beast Men were reanimated corpses, after all.

They still continued their training. They trained to increase their dual sync rates and also trained in the gym. Asuka trained with Kannami as her instructor while Rei preferred to have Shinji as her sensei, much to the delight of the boys. It gave them the excuse to be close to them at NERV.

So far, since the monster attack last week, there hadn't been any activity from Angels or the unknown factors. Kannami and Shinji were actually more worried about Grizzaka than the Angels. While the Angels were a threat, Grizzaka was one too. He was at the top of their most wanted list. Gendo was on that list too and Yamato was on Kannami's list.

* * *

"That's the Angel?" Shinji asked.

"Yes, it is," Ritsuko Akagi confirmed. "It's been confirmed as an Angel."

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked.

"Yes, I am, and so is the equipment," answered Akagi. She was stressed out and did not need this. She needed a smoke.

"I'm not questioning the validity of your claim, Dr. Akagi, but, it's…"

"It's a ball," Kannami finished, summing up Shinji's thoughts.

On the large monitor was said Angel, a huge black and white striped ball. Although it was supposedly one of the supposed destroyers of mankind, neither of the JyuKen artists could muster up enough of their professionalism to truly see it as a threat. Of course, the fct that the black and white sphere was simply hanging over the city with absolutely no movement or even aggressive intent, they were finding it difficult to try and remain serious.

"Yes, it does appear to be a ball, but it's still an Angel," insisted Ritsuko.

"Do we know what it is capable of?" Rei asked.

"What it's capable of?" snorted Kannami. "It's a _ball_! It's capable of rolling, and maybe bouncing."

"Despite its appearance, it's still an Angel and a threat," Ritsuko told the pilots. "Therefore, you should treat it as such."

"It's just floating there! Doing nothing!" Kannami cried out, feeling ridiculous that they were debating about a ball.

"Kannami, we can't underestimate Angels. It _looks_ harmless but we can't write it off as a threat," Shinji told his fellow pilot.

"But it's a zebra-striped ball!" Kannami cried out.

"What's his deal?" Asuka whispered to Rei.

"I think he feels a little insulted since we will be facing an Angel that resembles a ball," Rei said.

"I guess I can understand that feeling," said Asuka.

"It's not zebra-striped," denied Shinji. "Zebras are white with black stripes. That Angel is black with white stripes."

"It's white with black stripes!"

"Black with white stripes."

"White with black stripes!"

"Black with white stripes!"

Asuka rubbed her brown in annoyance. She could honestly say she loved Kannami and there was a lot about him she wouldn't trade for anything, but his incessant need to solve any and all arguments with his fists was not one of them. Walking over to the pair of arguing martial artists, she yanked them by the collars of their shirts so they would face her. With both of them looking at her in confusion, she raised her hands and flicked both of them on the nose.

"Ow!" the two JyuKen artists recoiled.

"Stop arguing! I don't care if it's a ball, square, or whether it has black stripes or white stripes! I don't even care if it has polka dots! We're Eva pilots and we're supposed to fight it! That's why we're here! If they're here to fight us, then we'll give them a fight!" Asuka shouted.

"An impressive speech, Asuka," Misato acknowledged.

"I feel pumped and motivated all of a sudden," said Kannami, rubbing his nose. "Thanks, Red."

"Hey, nobody wants another brawl to break out on NERV again. Last time we had to fish you out of the LCL when you both fell in," Asuka reminded.

"OK, let's slay an Angel!" declared Shinji.

"This will be the easiest Angel to beat. We just need to kick it real hard," said Kannami.

"It's not a damn ball!" Dr. Akagi shouted.

"Dr. Akagi, the Angel is round and black and white. It resembles a soccer ball," said Rei. Ritsuko gaped at the normally silent bluenette.

"She's got you there, Ritz!" Misato agreed.

* * *

The Evas were deployed with orders to remain on standby until the Angel performed any hostile acts. Unfortunately, the ball-like Angel still remained stationary, except for its black and white pattern which moved along its roundish body.

"So, does anybody have any plan?" Asuka asked.

"Why don't we take it to the beach and play volleyball?" suggested Kannami.

The redhead looked up at her JyuKen co-pilot and replied, "You really aren't going to let go of the fact that the Angel is a ball, huh?"

"Not anytime soon," remarked Kannami.

"Kannami, did you know that Shinji once fought an Angel that looked like a octahedron?" Rei asked from Unit 00.

"An octa-what?" Kannami didn't understand the term.

"Kinda like a 3D diamond shape," Shinji clarified. "This ball Angel reminds me of that." He shuddered. "Hope it doesn't have a laser."

"Ikari, you fought a laser-firing Angel? Now that's awesome!"

"You wouldn't think so if it fired it right at you and landed you in a hospital bed!" Shinji retorted.

Misato's voice came through the comm-system, _"Are you all still arguing?"_

"Kannami's still bitching about the Angel looking like a ball, Misato," Asuka informed.

"_Kannami, I know you feel a bit underestimated because of this, but no matter whatever form an Angel takes it's still dangerous_," Misato told him.

"Gotcha, Major, but it's just floating there," said Kannami.

"_Would you prefer if it started attacking?_"

In a heartbeat, he responded, "Yes!"

"Typical RinJyuKen practitioner," Shinji muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, at least it wouldn't be freaking boring! I mean if it started spitting out explosive cannonballs I'd be happy!" Kannami shot back.

Shinji asked Misato, "Misato, anything on the Angel yet?"

"No, and Ritz is still working on it," said Misato.

Kannami was twitching in his seat. He'd joined up so he could fight Angels, and prove he was the best fighter, not sit still and look at a psychedelic ball floating in front of him. "Red, I think we should just start attacking."

Asuka looked at him as he elaborated, "I mean it's just floating there! The faster we take it down, the faster we can get home and have fun!"

Asuka thought about it. To be honest, she didn't like the idea of just standing by and admiring the Angel from afar. She'd been chosen as an Eva pilot and worked hard to be one. She was practically born to fight Angels. "OK, let's do this!"

Eva-02 started to move.

"Asuka! Rukawa!" shouted Shinji, "What are you doing? Misato said to standby!"

"We're finishing this Angel off with one blow, Ikari! Just stand back and watch the show!" In a burst of speed provided by the combine sync-rate of the two pilots within 02 and Kannami's Confrontation Ki, the red Eva dashed towards the Angel.

"STOP!" Misato ordered. "Damn it! Shinji! Rei! Stop them!"

"Roger, Misato!" Shinji obeyed.

"Understood, Major," obeyed Rei.

The violet and blue Evas then chased after their comrade.

Inside 02, Kannami punched his palm and generated his Lion Rinki. "OK, here we go! RinJyu Lion-ken! Ringi: Goyu Shoda! Punch it, Red!"

Asuka grinned and had 02's fist reared back, a gold and black aura surrounding the fist in the form of a lion's head, as she prepared to slug the Angel…

Only to miss.

"WHAT!" the two pilots of the red Eva gaped and then they started to have a sinking feeling like they'd stepped into quicksand.

That was when Ritsuko's voice came through, "_THE SHADOW IS THE TRUE BODY OF THE ANGEL! GET OUT NOW!_"

"YOU SHOULD'VE SAID THAT EARLIER!" Kannami roared. They were sinking! Not good!

"Come on! Come on!" Asuka struggled to get free but the red Eva was already waist deep in the shadow. That was when she felt a pull on her arms.

Outside, 01 and 00 had grabbed 02's arms and pulling them back to try and drag the red Eva Unit out of the shadow. "Come on, Rei! Pull!" Shinji urged.

"I am trying!" Rei responded.

It seemed that the situation was under control for a second. With the combined might of Evas 01 and 00 pulling against the Angel's strength, it seemed that Unit 02 would be free of the inky mass with not much than perhaps a little bit of strain on its arms. However, it is said that in combat things had a habit of changing in the blink of an eye, and this battle was no exception to that rule. The black mass which was in fact the true Angel suddenly expanded from its original position, catching both 01 and 00 unaware. Before they knew it, they too were sinking into the black mass.

"So much for your rescue, Ikari," scoffed Kannami.

"Oh, screw you!" Shinji shot back.

And the three units then vanished right under the shadow.

Misato stared, gaping.

All three Evas' signals had gone silent.

* * *

**KAMEN RIDER CHROME: Thanks for the wait. I know you were hoping for more but this is just an opening for a bigger story arc. You'll see.**


	23. The Infinite Braneworlds

Shinji called, "Hello! Hello, can anyone hear me? Rukawa! Asuka! Rei! Misato! Hello! Calling NERV, this is Pilot Shinji Ikari of Eva Unit-01! Do you read me!"

There was no response.

Shinji murmured sarcastically, "Well, this is just great."

He activated his external camera and looked around. He seemed to be in some sort of desert. The sun was hanging in the high noon position, casting unforgiving heat on all that was beneath it. Canyons and cacti were quite common in the scene with sandy winds pushing over just about everything.

"At least I don't see the Angel here…wherever here is," said Shinji with some measure of relief.

He was actually more worried about his teammates than himself, especially Rei. There was no telling where his blue-haired girlfriend had ended up. He was especially worried if she ended up in this harsh environment. Unlike him, Rei had been raised in Tokyo-3 all her life and had next to no wilderness survival skills. She would probably know the textbook answers to desert survival, but without experience she could just make it worse for herself.

No, he couldn't think that way. Rei was able to avoid the heat inside of her EVA which was equipped to sustain the pilot in any environment for up to thirteen hours or so. She would be perfectly fine until someone found her. After all, who would miss a several stories tall bio-mechanoid fighting machine?

Calmed, Shinji decided, "Well, I might as well go out and see if I can find some help."

Shinji released his Entry Plug from the Eva and exited, the LCL spilling out as he climbed out and looked around. His Eva was lying on its front with the Entry Plug sticking out. He then looked around and then realized his clothes had changed.

"What…?"

He was confused. His Plug Suit had changed to a pair of denim jeans, a red and white striped shirt with a brown vest, cowboy boots and finally a cowboy hat on his head. He was also wearing a belt with holsters that had pistols in them.

Shinji scratched his head in confusion, "OK, did I get sent to the Twilight Zone or something?"

* * *

Rei had exited from her Eva to look at her surroundings and finally noticed her clothes change as well. It looked like her school uniform only with patches stitched into it and it looked dirty too. Also, judging from her surroundings, she concluded she was in some kind of junkyard but the piles of junk went on for miles and miles away. There was no plant life as far as she could see. Everything was just piles and piles of trash, scrap, and junk. No human settlement could be seen, which was understandable since no sentient species could possibly want to live in a junkyard.

Before she met Shinji, Rei would've just waited for Gendo or someone Gendo had sent if she ever went missing. She would never be scared. However, now she was terrified. Where was Shinji? What happened to him? He could be hurt somewhere and dying…

Rei pushed the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. No, she had to stay strong. She had to.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. Inside of the wallet was a strip of photos she and Shinji had taken at a photo booth. She smiled as she looked at Shinji's smiling face. That was all the reassurance she needed to know that everything would be okay.

Rei swore, "Shinji, I will find you."

* * *

Asuka was confused, and freaked out, but actually more confused. When she awoke she'd found her Eva lying in the snow surrounded by evergreen trees. When she tried to call for anyone, either from NERV or her fellow pilots, she got no response. She was also alone. Kannami wasn't in the plug with her. She'd thought he was playing a prank but when he didn't pop up again so she could beat him up, she got worried, really worried.

Being the adventurous girl that she was, Asuka went out to explore. Once her feet touched the snow-covered ground, she realized that her clothed had changed and she was now wearing a Santa suit made for girls. It was sleeveless and red, with a short skirt with boots and mittens, all trimmed in white fur, with the Santa hat on her head. She was also holding a bag.

"I must be dreaming…" murmured Asuka but she took time to check her surroundings. This was real snow. Ever since 2nd Impact the weather patterns of the world had not been the same and so Japan was in a perpetual summer. Even her home Germany never got snow anymore so this was all new to her.

Asuka then spotted light in the distance. Maybe there was someone who could tell her what was going on.

* * *

Kannami asked himself, "Did I wake up in a movie set or something?"

That was his first thought when he woke up in an alley dressed in a black kimono and hakama set with a gold lion on his back. When he looked around, he saw everyone dressed in traditional Japanese clothing like it was in-style.

Kannami had tried calling everyone on his cell phone and nobody had responded. He was worried, and hungry. He spotted a restaurant and decided to get some grub to fill his stomach and clear his mind.

* * *

Asuka had always prided herself for being a tough, strong, and also fiery girl who never broke down despite the hardships. She worked hard to be an Eva pilot and was prepared to fight anything that stood in her way, especially the Angels.

Of course, her training never prepared her for _this_.

She'd found a village and when she looked around she saw everyone dressed as Santa and I mean _everyone_. Men, women, the elderly, children and even babies were dressed as Santa Claus and they all greeted each other with a, "Merry Christmas!"

All of the stores sold nothing but toys, tools for making toys, Santa clothes, Christmas trees, ornaments, Christmas-themed food. Pretty much everything in the entire town was geared towards Christmas. Even stranger, everyone was always cheering and happy, which made Asuka wonder what was in the drinking water.

"OK, I must be going crazy…" Asuka muttered. She pinched her cheek as hard as she could. "Ow!" The realization dawned on her. "Crap…"

If this was one of her delusions, not like she had any, it was a very damn realistic one.

* * *

Rei sat down, hugging her knees to her chest. "Shinji…" She had been searching for what felt like hours at this point. She still hadn't found any sign of sentient life or even a scrap of anything edible. It was horribly distressing to her. Nothing but waste and junk as far as the eye could see. Just how big was this junkyard?

Ever since she started to get to know Shinji, she'd counted on him for love and emotional support. Maybe the commander was right and emotions were a weakness.

"No, he's wrong," Rei resolved, pushing the negative thought away as she wiped her tears. "I'm stronger because of my emotions. I'm stronger because of Shinji."

Still, that didn't change the fact that she was all alone in this infinite junkyard. She hadn't even run into anybody up until now.

* * *

Samurai World was a peaceful place ever since their evil ruler had been dethroned and defeated and the inhabitants lived somewhat peaceful lives. However, the peace was being disturbed right now.

"TAKE THIS!" Kannami roared as he punched a man to the ground after ducking a sword swing. This had all happened because of a misunderstanding. It wasn't his fault he didn't have the local currency but when he wanted to leave the local police force came to detain him. So, he did what came naturally to him.

He fought back.

He was actually going easy on them and he wasn't even using his swords. He wasn't really one to use weapons since he preferred his bare hands.

* * *

Shinji wiped the sweat off his brow. The sun was bright and hot and he really wished he was back in his Eva. The LCL made it cool.

Speaking of cool, he actually looked great in his new threads. "Wonder what Rei will think of my new look?" He also checked his pistols. They were loaded so at least he had some form of protection. Not like he needed guns considering his skill at GekiJyuKen but it helped to have a fallback plan.

Still, all Shinji saw were tumbleweeds, the remains of a bull, and cacti. He was also very thirsty. He wished he had some water or else he'd end up like that bull he'd passed…for the 3rd time.

"Great, I'm walking in circles," Shinji muttered. He had seen some mirages too. One of them was Rei with angel wings and beckoning him over with a pitcher of water.

The heat was getting to him.

And he _really_ could use a drink.

He then spotted a town in front of him and gasped in delight. "Finally, civilization!" He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He hoped they had a phone or something.

When he went into town, he saw that everyone was dressed like they were in the old wild-west. He saw cowboys and also women dressed in clothing in that period. He didn't have time to sightsee, though. He had to find something to drink and then maybe a phone.

Spotting a saloon and decided to go there. Upon entry, he saw cowboys having a good time playing poker and drinking with pretty waitresses serving drinks. He then went over to the bar counter. "Water, please," he asked.

"Water?" the barman snorted. "If you want water you can dunk your head in a bucket outside where the horses are drinking. We serve whiskey."

Shinji groaned. "I don't suppose you have a phone?"

"What's a phone?" the barman responded.

This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

One of the cowboys, who had Asian features like Shinji, watched him. "Guess he's not from around here."

Another voice whispered, "Doru doru. Aibou, I think you're right."

* * *

It was starting to get dark and Rei was both cold and hungry, and most of all she was feeling lonely. "Shinji…" she whispered.

She heard footsteps and became fearful. What if this strange place had some kind of predator? She started to run but tripped and scraped her knee. No, she wasn't going to run. She clenched her fists. She was an Eva Pilot, a soldier, a warrior. She would face her fears head on. She stood up and got into a stance that screamed 'bring it on!'

"Wait, we won't hurt you!" said one of them. It sounded like a young man.

"That's right, we're here to help." That was another, older voice.

Rei stared cautiously at the source of the voice. From behind one of the piles of junk, a pair of men slowly revealed themselves. Both of them were dressed in outfits not unlike what a race-car driver would wear. The elder was wearing a black version which had a number five on it styled after a wolf or some other canine. The younger had a green version which had a number four styled after a shark.

"Amigo, she looks really scared," a childish voice said, almost sounding like it had come from the arm of the boy in green.

"Gun, gun, gun! And she looks like she's chilly too." This voice was coming from the arm of the man in black.

"Who are you?" Rei asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"My name is Gunpei and this is my friend Hanto."

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" a little girl greeted Asuka.

"Ah…Merry Christmas?" Asuka responded, still a little weirded out. At least the people in this place were friendly, wherever this place was.

Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched from nearby. One was a man who seemed to have a calculating, but warm gleam in his eye matching that of an intellectual while the other was a girl who had shoulder length hair and seemed to have a natural ability to smile.

"Red hair?" asked the man. "That's not usually seen in Christmas World."

"On, on, on! Do you think she's from another world?" asked a voice from his pocket.

"V, v, v! She must be!" squeaked a female voice from the girl's pocket.

"Quiet Bear-V, she'll hear us," admonished the girl gently.

* * *

"OK, who wants some more!" shouted Kannami before…

**WHAM!**

He was knocked out by a blow to the head before being caught. The man who'd knocked him out was blonde and dressed in a black kimono, with matching hakama, and a gold haori.

"He's our brother, sirs," the man said, throwing Kannami over his shoulder. His companion, a girl in a silver kimono added, "He has some anger management problems. Ani and I came to find him. Sorry for the trouble."

The lead officer said, "Just keep him out of trouble next time."

* * *

After finally getting a drink of water from elsewhere, Shinji walked around the town to clear his thoughts. Had he gone back in time in the other side of the world or something? It looked like the old wild-west but it seemed off.

However, he was worried about Rei, Asuka and Kannami. Well, he shouldn't really worry about Kannami and Asuka. They could survive. It was Rei he was more worried about. When he first met her she didn't know anything except for the world she'd been born for under the commander's watch. He'd opened a whole new world for her. He just hoped she'd learnt enough that whenever she was on her own she could take care of herself.

Shinji just hoped to see her again.

And then the screaming began and he saw the cause. He saw…humanoid mechanoids attacking the town. "What…the hell?" He recalled the older GekiRangers telling him about something like this but he could not remember the names of these things. Of course, he wasn't about to ask question. He prepared to fight, when…

"Hyah!" one of the locals just suddenly lunged at the approaching junky robots and began kicking and punching them away, apparently unconcerned with their metal bodies. Avoiding several attacks, he grabbed the shoulder of his outfit and threw it away to reveal a red and black racing suit marked with a number one styled like a hawk. The strange machines quickly recovered and squared off against the man.

"OK, Gaiark! It's time to scrap you! Let's do this, partner!" the man announced, revealing a cell phone.

"Doru Doru! Let's do it at Mach Speed!" A blue light rose from the phone to reveal a cartoonish race car which looked like it had a hawk's face. The man quickly opened the top of his phone and removed a red cell battery which made the hologram vanish.

"Change Soul! Set!" The man continued, inserting a gray cell battery with a stylized G on it. Bringing the phone back, he pressed a button which made the screen flash. "Let's Go On!"

Shinji heard the sound of an engine roar and then the man vanished in red light only to reappear wearing a red bodysuit and helmet. The hawk-like number one was on his chest while the edges of his boots and gloves were black like tires. Silver straps across his chest looked like a safety harness of some kind while above his black visor looked like the front of a car with a yellow beak and tires on the sides. "GekiRanger?" he asked. "No…" he realized.

"Mach Full Force! Go-OnRed!"

* * *

Asuka sat on a bench and sighed. Well, she wasn't in any danger but it would appear that she would be staying in this strange place with these Santas. They were nice, and all, but she wanted to get back home with everyone. She was an Eva pilot, not a Santa.

Kannami would comment her outfit looked sexy on her. She smiled as she thought about the young man she was so infatuated with.

She leaned back. She wished Hikari was here. She was even wishing to see Kensuke and Touji.

And then she felt hands on her shoulders. She reacted on instinct. "Merry Christmas!" she yelped. Twirling around, she saw a pair of people, but they weren't blending into the strange Christmas-themed world like the other people were. The man didn't have a beard like every other male and the girl didn't seem to have her mind on Christmas and looked more serious than any of the women she had seen thus far.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the man asked. Asuka gasped.

"Relax," the girl assured, "We won't hurt you. We're friends."

"Friends?" Asuka asked.

"I'm Renn and she's Saki," the man introduced himself and his partner.

* * *

Rei, Gunpei and Hanto sat around a fire. They were eating instant ramen that they'd packed and Rei had vegetarian ramen.

They told her that they were members of the Go-ongers. She never heard of such a group. Also, they'd told her she was in a place called Junk World which was one of the Braneworlds which included the Human World. She was skeptical at first but considering they were surrounded by junk she couldn't dispute their claim.

"So, Rei-san, how did you get here?" asked Hanto.

"I and my friends were transported here," said Rei.

"So, same as us," Gunpei concluded.

"Have you seen anyone else?" Rei asked hopefully. "Them, maybe?" She took out a photo and showed it to them. It was a group photo of all four pilots that Misato had taken. In it Rei had her head on Shinji's shoulder as he had an arm around her waist.

"Sorry," Gunpei apologized.

"You're the only other human we've met."

* * *

"Ugh…where am I?" Kannami groaned. Why was his head throbbing? He sat up and looked around. "Huh?" He was in a room, in a futon. He hoped that it was all a dream until he saw his clothes. "Where am I?"

"Samurai World," a man answered as he entered. Kannami jumped up and charged only to be flipped onto his back. "Aggressive and rageful," the man summarized. "RinJyuKen," he concluded.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Kannami.

"Ani, didn't I ask to be gentle?" the girl reminded.

"He attacked first, Miu," her brother replied.

"Just let him up, Ani." The man let go of Kannami and the RinJyuKen artist rose back to his feet.

"Who are you?" Kannami repeated.

"I'm Miu and this is my brother Hiroto," said Miu.

"You should be thanking us. The police were going to take you in," said Hiroto.

"I didn't need help," Kannami scoffed.

"Bata Bata Bata! He's really mean, Aniki!"

"Who said that!" demanded Kannami. Turning in all directions, he spotted a pair of grips that looked like the control sticks for a flying machine resting on a small table nearby. Both of them were showing holograms of cartoon vehicles. One was of a jet which seemed to be crossed with a tiger while the other was a helicopter mixed with a rooster. "What the-?"

"Meet Toripter and Jetras," Miu spoke up, gesturing to the pair of holograms. "Our Engine partners."

"Engines?" Kannami blinked. Where had he heard that before?

* * *

"So, why are you in this world?" Rei asked.

"We're investigating something," Hanto explained. "The Gaiark are planning something."

"Gaiark?" Rei asked.

"The Gaiark come from the Machine World, same as our Engines," explained Gunpei.

"That's right!" Gunpherd said as he appeared. Rei gasped as she saw the hologram. Gunpherd appeared to be a police car, but was styled similarly to a canine with a gun barrel for a nose.

"Senorita, there's no need to fear," said Birca as he appeared from Hanto's shift-changer. He himself was green and similar to a shark, but also like a motorcycle.

"Are they holograms?" Rei asked.

"Actually, they are our partners," said Hanto.

"The Gaiark tried to take over our world but when they failed they decided to try and pollute the human world but the Go-ongers were able to stop them. However, they have yet to give up," said Gunpherd. "They're building something, something huge."

* * *

"So, these Gaiark guys are here?" asked Asuka.

"This, and three other worlds," Renn answered.

"So, they wanna make Earth a dirty place?" Asuka asked.

"Gaiark see pollution as a beautiful thing and since they are pure machine, they don't feel the negative effects like humans or Engines can," Renn explained. "They also want to spread it to all of the Braneworlds and turn all of known existence into one big polluted mess."

"Oh come on!" Asuka gaped. "As if the Angels weren't enough!"

"We and our friends managed to defeat the Gaiark ministers and their president, but pockets of them still exist," Saki explained. "There are still some high-ranking members that we have yet to track down as well so we assume that one or maybe even all of them are responsible for this sudden uprising in activity."

"On, on on! Don't worry! We'll beat them all!" a new voice cheered.

"V, v, v! That's right!" a female voice agreed.

"Huh?" Asuka blinked. "What was that?"

"Our partners," Renn answered as he and Saki removed their cell phones. Hitting buttons holograms of a blue bus styled after a lion and a yellow ATV styled like a bear appeared in flashes of light. "May I introduce our partners and friends Buson and Bear-V."

"Hello!" the two cartoonish vehicles smiled, waving their wheels in greeting.

"Uh…hi," said Asuka uncertainly.

* * *

Shinji watched as Go-onRed fought the Ugutz alone and decided that it was time for him to intervene. He activated his Wing Changer and called out, running towards the battle, "Beast On!"

In a flash he was in his Geki Suit and had become GekiWing. He leapt over the Ugutz and much to Go-OnRed's surprise produced a pair of war fans and knocked the mechanoids down with them. Go-OnRed recognized the symbol on GekiWing's chest and identified him, "You're a…GekiRanger!"

"That's right," GekiWing confirmed. "I'm GekiWing."

"You can call me Go-OnRed!"

"I know, I heard. So, let's talk after we scrap these walking junk-piles."

"Heh, now you're speaking my language."

* * *

Hanto, Junpei and Rei were sneaking amongst the piles of garbage. After they told her about their mission, she insisted on coming along. Earth/Human World was her home too and she was responsible for protecting it.

"Look, over there," Junpei pointed. Hanto and Rei looked and saw Ugutz surrounding a gigantic blue mecha.

"My Eva," Rei whispered.

"That's yours?" Hanto asked. "Wow."

"What are they doing with it?" asked Rei.

"They look like they're trying to take it apart," observed Gunpei.

That much was true. The Ugutz were tugging and pulling at every edge of Unit 00's armor that they could reach. Some were trying to cut sections of it away with their weapons but were meeting with little, if any, success. Rather than being alarmed by the activity, Rei seemed to find their attempts…amusing.

"They must have just found it," Hanto whispered. "Otherwise they would have bigger machinery to cut off the armor with."

"Which they no doubt already called for," Gunpei frowned. "Rei, are you still able to pilot your machine?"

"I shut it down before I left so the battery should still be almost fully charged," Rei replied. "I only have near five minutes of power so if I am to take it somewhere, I will need to do it now."

"We'll handle that part," Gunpei replied. "You just worry about getting inside. We'll let you know where to go. It should have enough space to hide your Eva. We don't want Gaiark to get their hands on it."

* * *

Feeling a bit better about her situation, Asuka, Saki, and Renn were seated at a café which specialized in cookies and milk, one of the favorite delicacies of Christmas World. Asuka was explaining just how she had ended up in Christmas World and that in turn led to what she did back on Earth/Human World.

"So, you fight monsters called 'Angels'," Saki frowned. "That doesn't sound right." Angels were supposed to be kind and gentle beings that looked out for everyone and protected them from harm. They weren't supposed to be giant monsters who wanted to destroy all human life.

"It's just a codename NERV uses for them," said Asuka. She often wondered why they were called Angels when they looked like anything but. If they were named something else then maybe there would be so many religious groups and even cults dedicated to bringing NERV down once and for all.

Renn remained quiet as he ran over the facts about Evas in his mind. Supposedly this Evangelion was a powerful weapon which was the ace in the hole against these so-called Angels. If it was powerful enough to fight them on equal footing, then it most definitely had some advanced technology behind it. Technology that Gaiark would no doubt want for themselves.

"This Eva of yours, where is it?" asked Renn.

"I left it somewhere in the forest," said Asuka.

"Take us to it," Renn insisted.

"Why?" Asuka asked, cocking an eyebrow

"If the Gaiark are here as we suspect, they might try to use any advance technology for their plans. Your Eva is in danger."

Now Asuka looked mad and determined. "Let's go! Nobody touched my Eva without my permission."

* * *

"Mantan Gun!" Go-OnRed called as he fired at the Ugutz and they exploded. GekiWing flew at them and sliced them apart with his Geki Fans. As a result, they too exploded. The two costumed-heroes then turned to each other and did a fist-bump as a sign of friendship and thanks.

"It's been awhile since I've met another GekiRanger," said Go-OnRed.

"You knew the GekiRangers?" GekiWing asked.

"Naturally!" He took off his helmet. "I'm Sosuke Esumi, Go-OnRed."

Shinji took off his helmet, "And you can call me Shinji Ikari, GekiWing."

"Wow, you're just a kid!"

"I get that a lot. So, you're from my time too, right?"

"Time?"

"This is the past, isn't it?"

"No, this is the Gunman World."

"Gunman World?"

"I'm going to have to tell you a lot about Braneworlds, Shinji-kun, but tell me how you got here?"

"Well, my Eva crashed here."

"Eva? What's an Eva?"

"My huge mecha."

"A MECHA! You have a mecha? Where!"

"I…left it in the desert."

Sosuke gaped at him.

"That's not good, is it?"

"Come on Shinji, and grab a horse! We're getting to your Eva before they get it."

"They?"

"Gaiark!"

* * *

"This is where I left it," said Asuka.

"Hide!" Renn whispered as he pulled the two girls behind a tree before peaking out. "Gaiark Ugutz."

"OK, what are those ugly things?" Asuka grimaced.

"They are Ugutz, mechanical foot soldiers of the Gaiark Empire," Renn explained. "And they're nothing but trouble."

"They're also ruining my Eva's paintjob!" Asuka seethed. Of course, that was the only thing about the Eva that the Ugutz were managing to affect. They were straining and working as hard as they could, but they couldn't remove a single piece of its armor. A few were even desperately whacking the entry plug in hopes of opening, but to no effect. It was pretty clear that they had no idea what they were doing.

"If they get it open, a paint job is going to be the least of our worries," Saki whispered.

"But Saki-chan, a paint job is very important!" Bear-V whispered to her partner. "We have to take pride in our looks, especially if we're in important positions like Go-Ongers!"

"Right, it's time to act," said Renn. He and Saki removed their Engine Souls from their cell phones before they both stood up and called out together, "Change Soul! Set!" They then activated their transformation devices with a shout out, "Let's Go On!"

Asuka's eyes widened as she watched the two transform, their cloths changing into colored spandex suits. Renn was donned in a blue suit with tire-like cuffs on his gloves and boots while a lion-like number two appeared on his chest. Saki was donned in a similar yellow suit which had a mini skirt and a bear-like number three on her chest. Both Go-Ongers raised their hands up before helmets appeared, the blue one styled after Buson while the yellow one looked like Bear-V.

"Met On!" Renn and Saki called as they put their helmets on.

The Ugutz realized their presence and immediately went into battle mode.

"Just Correct! Go-OnBlue!"

"Smile Blooming! Go-OnYellow!"

Asuka gaped openly not at their uniforms, but at their introductions. "Just Correct? Smile Blooming?" she questioned. How could they have such cheesy intros?

* * *

"Change Soul! Set! Let's Go On!

Gunpei and Hanto were quickly covered in a new pair of suits which were green (Hanto) with a stylized shark-like 4 with gold gear-like cuffs on his boots and gloves while Gunpei received a black suit with gold gear-like cuffs and boots with a dog-like five on his chest. Both raised their hands to have helmets; one which was shark-like while the other was dog-like.

"Met On!"

"Doki Doki Delight! Go-OnGreen!"

"Dash Dynamic! Go-OnBlack!"

Rei didn't openly gawk at them but her eyes had widened slightly. She looked at the dark-clad Go-OnBlack and was momentarily reminded of Shinji. She wondered if he was experiencing the same thing.

* * *

Procuring two horses, Shinji and Sosuke went out along the desert towards Shinji's Eva. The desert was wide but Shinji's Eva was huge and out in the open so it wouldn't be hard to miss.

Sosuke explained to Shinji that he and his friends were spread out in other Braneworlds, taking down the remnants of the Gaiark Empire. They managed to recover valuable information that the Gaiark was planning something huge for the Human World. The information mentioned sending a gigantic BankiJyu.

A BankiJyu as huge as an Eva.

When asked, Sosuke explained that BankiJyu were the frontline weapons of the Gaiark and were much more powerful than the Ugutz. The BankiJyu were in a nutshell, moving pollution machines. Each one specialized in destroying the land, the sea, or the air with massive amounts of contamination and/or destruction. They lived to pollute, corrode, and destroy. An upside though was that when the BankiJyu in question was destroyed, it was generally easy to undo the damage they had done or the damage had undone itself since it was tied to the continued function of the pollution machine.

Another downside though was that all of the BankiJyu were powered by what was known as Bikkurium. Normally it allowed the BankiJyu to operate without pausing, but if a BankiJyu was dealt enough damage to be considered lethal, their systems would dump an insane amount of the stuff into their fuel lines and would create a chain reaction that would make the polluters grow into a giant state. To Shinji, that was intimidating enough since it meant that Gaiark had mechanized the Jashin Goten Hen of the RinJyuKen.

Pretty scary.

The two had travelled as fast as they could go and for what felt like a long time before they spotted the Eva and the Ugutz trying to take it apart. Shinji had considered the mecha his partner ever since he started to pilot it and watching the Ugutz manhandling it was a great insult to him.

"Change Soul! Set!" called Sosuke.

"Shriek! Wings of the Beast!" called Shinji.

"Let's Go On!"

"Beast On!"

* * *

The Ugutz were working on something huge, really huge, but they still needed more material. Things hadn't been easy in terms of resources since all of the ministers and Batcheed were destroyed. With luck though, more parts would be coming in soon enough. Scouts and sensors indicated that large mechas had suddenly dropped into several different Braneworlds. So without hesitation, the newest leader of the Gaiark sent out squads of Ugutz to collect those mechas and strip them for parts.

"Soon, the Human World will fall, de ariusu," said a humanoid automaton as he watched the progress of his latest project. He was tall with a broad figure and dressed in what looked like a black pin-striped suits. He had bolts for knuckles and also nuts for buttons. His suit looked like it was made of metal as it seemed bolted on as well. He also wore a fedora on his head. He had a large chin and clutched between his teeth was a cigar. Instead of eyes he had a single red horizontal visor.

His name was Don Techapone and he was the leader of the underground Gaiark Empire. With most of the high-ranked members of the empire gone, he'd taken charge and taken over to pick up where they had left off.

"Keep on working, de ariusu! Let nothing stop you, de ariusu!" He took out a Tommy gun out of nowhere and started shooting at the ceiling. On the ceiling was a large poster of the Go-Ongers and he'd shot it up. "The Go-Ongers won't be able to stop us now, de ariusu!" He let loose a loud laugh, swallowing his cigar in the process.


	24. Race Towards the Goal

NERV was in a panic. Not only was the Angel still active, they had also lost all their pilots and the Evangelions. Misato was yelling at Ritsuko to figure out some way to get the four kids out while Gendo watched impassively. However, he was upset as the tools to accomplish his scenario had been lost and it was all because of the Third Child. Part of him wished he'd paid more attention to his son's growth and made sure he turned into the ideal pawn. Unfortunately, things came up and he was always confident that everything would go as planned. However, not only had the Third Child act in a way he had not planned, he also managed to break Rei out of her shell. There was no way he could just replace Rei now as Shinji was always around her and would be close by whenever she was alone. He remembered spotting the Third Child standing near his office when Rei reported to him.

Then there was the 4th Child whom Gendo had brought in as a way to control Shinji but that had been a disastrous decision, especially due to the Fourth Child's influence on the Second. The Second Child, as planned, had been brought up so she would only value her position as an Eva Pilot so she could be manipulated due to her ego. Unfortunately, Kannami was able to get close to her and forge a sort of romantic bond. A bond such as that was also present between Rei and Shinji which served to irk him.

This whole thing had started since Shinji came along and Gendo wished he hadn't brought him into all this, scenario be damned. Shinji was spiritually, mentally and physically stronger than anticipated, easily taking the Gendo down in their little bet for Rei's freedom. That had been humiliating for NERV's Commander but a deal was a deal.

He looked to the monitor and wondered what else could go wrong.

* * *

The new BankiJyu had been completed. Named Eva Banki, the mechanical monstrosity was enormous. It possessed the same lean frame of the Evas with a rusted brown color and armored plating that seemed bolted on. It also possessed spikes along the spikes that went down along the long, reptilian tail. The hands had claws that folded back on the forearms. On the chest was the Gairk Empire's familiar symbol and the head was skull-like in appearance. Like all BankiJyu, Eva Banki had a personality and also armed to the teeth with guns mounted on the shoulders and hips and also wielding an axe as its personal weapon.

" EVAAAAAA!" roared Eva Banki as he was activated, knocking the Ugutz working on him to the floor as he stomped his foot on the floor. "I AM READY, EVA!"

"That's good, de ariusu!" smiled Don Techapone as he took a drag from his cigar. "Open up the cockpit!"

The Gairk Emblem on Eva Banki's chest twisted before the panels split open on its chest to reveal the cockpit. The insides of the panels were lined with screens and the cockpit also had screens all around it. The controls only had a chair. Jumping high, Don Techapone landed in the chair where the interface on the chair plugged him right in, connecting him to Eva Banki as the panels closed.

"ALL SYSTEMS GO, EVA!" reported Eva Banki, eagerly awaiting orders. "YOUR COMMAND, EVA!"

"Let us give the Human World a warm hello, de ariusu!" ordered Don Techapone.

* * *

"Any way to get those kids out yet, Ritsuko!-?" demanded Misato. She so wanted a beer right now but she was on duty. Still, an ice, cold Yebisu might calm her down.

"I'm not a miracle worker, Misato!" Ritsuko snapped at him. Scans on the Angel had shown that the creature's inside was a Dirac Sea, which meant infinite space despite its size.

There were no signs pointing to the pilots being alive, but Misato held onto hope that they were still alive in there.

* * *

Go-OnRed and GekiWing were dealing with the Ugutz who'd found Unit-01 and trying to tear it apart for spare parts. However, the GekiRanger and Eva Pilot would not let his gigantic aibou get harmed. With his twin Geki Sabers, he cut the Ugutz down with near ruthless proficiency.

As for Go-OnRed, he had to admit the younger was boy was skilled. He'd met the GekiRangers and seen them in action, even learning something new from Jan who was the team's Red Ranger. With his Rosa Saber, Go-OnRed was cutting the Ugutz down. He was also wielding the Mantan Gun and shooting down the Ugutz that were charging at him.

"Shinji, I think you better start up that Mecha now!" Go-OnRed ordered.

"But Sosuke-san!" GekiWing argued.

"It's OK! I've dealt with rustbuckets like these before! I'll be fine!" Go-OnRed insisted. "Now get in there!"

GekiWing nodded and jumped onto the Eva, knocking away Ugutz who tried to get in his way. He reached for the Entry Plug and got it open before he slipped inside, locking the Entry Plug up. LCL started to fill up the cockpit as he put his hands on the controls, synching himself with his Unit-01. "Come on, you can do it. Get up!"

He felt a warm feeling, like an embrace, which was warm and comforting, but shrugged it off as he focused on activating his Eva. It had just enough power. All the screens and gauges lit up and GekiWing called out, "Eva-01, on the move!"

As Go-OnRed was surrounded, he saw the giant Eva starting to stand and grinned. "Oh yeah!" And then he realized where he was and saluted to the Ugutz. "Later!" He rushed off right before the Eva's giant foot came down and flattened the Ugutz. They started fleeing from the massive mecha as it threw its head back and roared. Sosuke whistled, "Man, that is awesome."

"Sosuke-san," Shinji's voice came out of the external speakers on the Eva. "Now what?"

"Well…" began Sosuke only for his communicator to turn on. "Bomper? What is it?"

"_Sosuke, there's big trouble on Earth! Big Trouble!_"

* * *

Alarms started to blare all over NERV. While that wasn't unexpected since an Angel had appeared, the alarms were usually shut down after a certain point once everyone was either in shelters or their battle stations. The Angel was still floating about motionlessly, but for the alarms to go off meant that something else was coming. Some of the lower-level employees wondered if the Angel was getting some backup now that the Evas were gone.

"What's going on!-?" demanded Misato charging into the command centre from the meeting room. Was it the Angel? Was it on the move again?

"There's some sort of energy pattern appearing in Tokyo-3," one of the bridge bunnies reported. "A Green one!"

"What's that supposed to mean!-?" exclaimed Misato. "Ritz?"

"Why are you looking at me for!-?" Ritsuko snapped.

"You're the scientist!"

"Doesn't mean I'm a know it all! How about you bring up the screens to show what's going on!" suggested Ritsuko sharply.

Misato cursed herself for her brief moment of stupidity and ordered, "Bring up a visual!"

The screen then switched from the stationary Angel to a view of Tokyo-3 and what they saw was something else and also very familiar.

"An Eva?" gaped Misato.

"It's…it's impossible…" uttered Ritsuko. It wasn't like any Evangelion they had ever seen, though the base design was similar. It appeared more monstrous than anything. Then the screen showed static before the visage of Don Techapone was seen.

"_People of the Human World_," began Don Techapone. "_I am Don Techapone of the Gairk Empire, de ariusu. I demand your complete surrender or you all will suffer death and destruction at my hands, de ariusu. Answer immediately or this city will be the first to fall, de ariusu_."

Gendo frowned. This definitely was not in the scenario. Fuyutsuki wondered what would happen now and how would the city defend itself without the Evangelions.

* * *

It wasn't long before the JSSDF deployed its forces against the pseudo-Evangelion. Air and ground attack forces were deployed and firing upon Eva Banki. Inside his cockpit, Don Techapone laughed as the primitive weapons of the Human World tried to do his superior Gaiark-built Eva Banki harm. "Eva Banki, squash those flies," Don Techapone ordered.

"YES, EVA!" obeyed Eva Banki. It unfolded its claws and swiped at the jets and choppers flying around it and with a single swiped they were hacked to pieces and exploded, the pilots all killed. Eva Banki then raised its foot and crushed the tanks and mobile missile launchers on the ground, killing the soldiers and driving the survivors away, fearing for their survival.

Don Techapone's face appeared on all screens, "_You humans don't know when you've lost, have you, de ariusu? Now you see the power the Gairk Empire possesses! You will bow down to me, Don Techapone de ariusu!_"

* * *

"We have no choice, we need to use an N2 mine," ordered Gendo. "We can have a carrier drop it on that thing."

"Negative," denied Ritsuko. Gendo looked at her. "We managed to analyze this thing and its armor would be able to withstand an N2 mine's detonation. The only thing that will accomplish is the destruction of the city."

"This is not good," Misato frowned. She clenched her fists. Tokyo-3 was finished and it wasn't going to be because of Angels but a different type of enemy altogether, one they were not prepared for!

What really made her wonder was why the Angel was remaining still the entire time. It didn't seem to be all that concerned about the mock-Eva that was attacking. Why didn't it consider the invader a threat? Did the Angel know what it was and was working with it? Was it because of some other reason? Either way, it was becoming painfully obvious that the human race was screwed.

They needed a miracle…

"Major, there's a signal coming from the Angel!" reported one of the bridge bunnies. "No, I'm detecting three signals! It's the Evas!"

Misato and Ritsuko looked to each other. Could it be? Were they back?

Gendo's eyes narrowed. What was going on now?

The ball Angel suddenly started to bulge in places as if something was trying to force its way out and then in a sudden burst of violence and a bloody shower the Angel's body erupted like a balloon and standing in the middle of the remains were the Evangelions Unit-01, 02 and 00. They were also covered in the Angel's blood.

"Alright, we're back!" cheered Asuka.

"I am pleased," said Rei.

"Now that was some trip," said Shinji. His communication system began to alert him of a call and he activated it. "Shinji here."

"_SHINJI, YOU'RE BACK!_" Misato yelled out, her voice from the speakers deafening.

"Yeah, and so are Rei and Asuka," said Shinji.

"Were you worried, Misato?" asked Asuka.

"_Of course I was!_" Misato cried. "_Wait, where's Kannami?_"

"He's coming," assured Shinji. "Just trust me. He's just hitching a ride with some friends."

"What?" Misato shook her head. "Never mind. There's a situation back in Tokyo-3 and we need you there, ASAP!"

"Roger!" Shinji saluted. Of course their energy was limited right now but Shinji had a solution. It would use up a lot of his energy but right now it was worth it. Steeling himself, Shinji prepared to unleash his technique. This would be the first time he did it three times in a row. "Gekiwaza: Rai Rai Jyu!" He called, "GekiShark! GekiBat! GekiElephant! Jyuken Busou!"

Gekibat combined with Unit-01 as Gekishark and GekiElephant combined with Unit-00 and Unit-02 respectively. That at least should give them a boost and buy them some time but Shinji began to tremble in his entry plug and groan. One thing he neglected to do though was shut down his communication screens. If he did, Rei and Asuka wouldn't have been able to see him slouch so suddenly and see him look weaker than they ever had before.

"Shinji, are you okay?" Rei asked.

"I'm fine, Rei," insisted Shinji, gritting his teeth. "Now, time to save the city!"

The three Geki-empowered Evangelions then dashed off to the rescue.

* * *

Don Techapone, bored, decided that it was time that the city to be destroyed. He needed a new base of operations once he started conquering the Human World so why not here? It wasn't like anyone could stop him, right?

Eva Banki roared as it started to level the city, smashing buildings apart with its bare hands. Inside the cockpit, Don Techapone took a drag from his cigar and grinned. "Hmph, stupid humans. Well, at least I get to destroy this city, de ariusu. Might make a good base, de ariusu." Of course his gloating was interrupted when a giant steel ball crashed against the Eva Banki's head, knocking it to the ground. "Huh!-?"

The Eva Banki shook its head and turned to where the attack had come from. To its surprise, the three true Evangelions appeared at the edge of the city and were coming closer. All three were adorned with their various GekiBeasts, making them look a little intimidating. It certainly made the Eva Banki begin to take them more seriously as it recovered from the sneak attack.

"Ugh, what is that? Some kind of cheap knockoff?" scoffed Asuka in disgust as she saw the Eva Banki in her sights.

"It is an enemy," said Rei, eyes narrowed. "An unpleasant one."

"Must be one of those Gairk guys the Go-Ongers were talking about," said Shinji. "Alright, girls! Until help arrives we'll beat this guy to the ground!"

"Right!" Asuka and Rei nodded.

Eva Banki rose to its feet, punching its knuckles together. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU, EVA!" It unleashed its claws and charged at the three Evangelions.

"PILOTS, ASSEMBLE!" ordered Shinji and the three Geki-Evas charged right back. Rei, whose Eva had been equipped with GekiShark was the fastest as it surged towards Eva Banki. She then used the blade-like fins equipped to her Eva's arms to slash at Eva Banki, causing sparks to fly on contact. It roared and tried to claw at her but then got slashed in the back by Shinji who was using Eva-01's GekiBat wings to attack the Eva Banki.

Asuka, using the power of GekiElephant, spun the EleHammer above her Eva's head and then tossed it at the Eva Banki's head, causing it to see stars spinning around its head. It was dazed from the blow.

Don Techapone cursed and then he started to activate the weapons of Eva Banki. "Fire, de ariusu!" he ordered and pressed a button. The spikes on Eva Banki's back then fired off like rockets and flew at the three Evas.

"AT-Fields!" Shinji ordered and the Evas erected their AT-Fields to block the missiles.

"Dammit!" Don Techapone cursed in Engrish

"Alright, let's finish this!" declared Asuka but then everything in her Eva started to go dark. "Huh? What?" She checked the gauges. She was running out of power! "Shinji, what's going on!-?

Shinji could not hold the GekiBeast's materialization for long and soon they faded from the Evas, causing the giant machines to shut down.

"What!-?" exclaimed Asuka. "What happened!-?"

"Shinji!" cried Rei.

"Ugh…so tired…" Shinji groaned, slouching forward in his Entry Plug.

"Shinji, you've used too much of your Geki," Rei realized.

"Baka, why didn't you say you were tired?" cried Asuka, worried for her fellow pilot.

"Sorry," he apologized weakly, looking a little pale. "Never really done that before…so I wasn't sure how long…it would last…"

"Now, time for you to die, de ariusu," said Don Techapone. "Eva Banki, finish them.

"YES, EVA!" the Eva Banki obeyed as it went to destroy the Evangelions. Of course, gunfire rained down on it from above and then missiles exploded against it. Up in the air was a jumbo jet that had a blue whale's head, a helicopter that had a rooster's face and a jet designed after a tiger.

While the Evas had run out of power to move, there was enough reserved energy for the communication system and Asuka's screen came to life to show a familiar, roguish face.

"Hey, Red? Miss me?" asked Kannami as he rode inside Jum-bowhale's cockpit.

"Kannami!" Asuka cried happily.

"Rukawa-dono," smiled Shinji.

"Woah, Ikari-kun," blinked Kannami. "You look like shit."

"I feel like shit," Shinji retorted. "So, who're your friends?"

"Oh, just the Go-Onwings," answered Kannami.

"You mean like the Go-Ongers?" asked Rei.

"Exactly, oh and speaking of which here they come now!" said Kannami.

Driving along the empty street was a convoy of giant and strange vehicles. The one in the lead was a red racecar with a bird's face followed by a blue bus with a lion's face and a yellow 4WD truck with a bear motif. These three were followed by a green motorcycle with an orca motif and a black police car that looked German Shepherd. Between them was a semi-trailer truck with the cab resembling the head of an alligator. Finally, there was a set of three trains led by a red steam engine that looked like a wooly mammoth, connected with a white bullet train that looked like a T-Rex and finally a blue bullet train that looked like a triceratops. Along with Toripter, Jetras and Jum-bowhale, these were the Engine Partners of the Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings.

"Aibou, let's tell them who we are! Doru doru!" said Speedor.

"Alright!" agreed Go-OnRed. "Mach Full Force! Go-OnRed!"

"Full tank of courage! The highway star! Engine Speedor"

"Just Correct! Go-OnBlue!"

"The chic and gallant safe ride! I'm Engine Bus-on"

"Smile Blooming! Go-OnYellow!"

"The loving and compassionate tough girl! I'm Engine Bear-V"

"Doki doki delight! Go-OnGreen!"

"The easygoing dreamer! I'm Engine Birca"

"Dash Dynamic! Go-OnBlack!"

The hard emergency dispatch! I'm Engine Gunpherd!"

"The giant star! I am Engine Carrigator!"

"Break the Limit! Go-OnGold!"

"Flying free! Tricky! I'm Engine Toripter!"

"Sparkling World! Go-OnSilver!"

"The silver air master! I'm Engine Jetras!"

"Everything about me is first class! It's Engine Jumbowhale!"

The train-like Ancient Engines could not speak human language so they communicated with their own sounds.

Kishamoth's trumpeting translated as: "Departing from ancient times, full speed ahead. Engine Kishamoth!"

T-Line's roar was translated as: "Going up. Engine of wishes, T-line!"

K-Line's roar was translated as: "Going down. Engine of Light, K-line!"

"PERSEVERING ON THE ROAD TO JUSTICE! ENGINE SENTAI GO-ONGER!"

"TAKE OFF! GO-ONWINGS!"

With the introductions made, the Engines went straight into battle with Go-OnRed issuing the command to end this fight once and for all. "G12 Formation!" He entered the code on his Go-OnPhone.

"ENGINE GATTAI!

The collected Engines sped up and suddenly began to drive through the air as if it were solid road, much to the shock of the observers. Carrigator moved first, actually splitting in two, his front and back halves moving next to one another. Kishamoth was next, suddenly broken apart, his wheels detaching and his cabin splitting into two. The two cabin sections were hollow and attached to Carrigator's two sections. Birca and Gunpherd came next, their back ends compacting before inserting themselves into the hollow spaces. Bus-On transformed next, his back end folding down before splitting into two legs and attaching to the Kishamoth's sections. Once attached, Kishamoth's wheels attached to the sides. Bear-V quickly unfolded between her main body and her wheels, the lower half attaching to the right side of the Kishamoth parts while her head attached on top of Bus-on's. Speedor came next, unfolding into an upper torso, shoulders, and a human-like head which landed on top of Bear-V. T-Line and K-Line went into motion and converted their back ends into special connectors which connected to the Speedor section and took the place of arms and hands. Toripter and Jetras detached their back ends, Toripter's becoming a mask for Speedor while Jetras' turned into a mask and going higher than the other. The helicopter and jet then attached themselves to the shoulders. Finally, Jumbowhale's tail split apart diagonally while his wings shifted to a horizontal position before he attached himself to the gestalt's back. He dropped a payload which shifted into two gray sections that attached to the back of the Carrigator feet while a black section with a green stripe in the centre attached to the left side from Bear-V's wheels. His head then detached and connected to his own back before Kishamoth's head came down in its place. The mask from before then came down and covered the robot's face with a black mask with a red mouth guard and a yellow visor complete with wings coming from the sides. The last changed was Kishamoth's tusks coming down to accent the mask to look like a crown.

"ENGINE-OH G12! TUNE UP! GO ON!"

* * *

Gendo kept a neutral face on as everyone gawked or gaped at what they were seeing on the screen. The animalistic vehicles had just united together, all twelve of them, into a giant robot which towered over the Evangelions and Eva Banki.

The other witnesses were still gawking for over a full minute by what they saw the giant vehicles do. Towering over even the Evas, it made them wonder if they should begin investing in whoever built the Engines rather than Evas. Aoba, Maya, and Hyuga were all getting a front row seat of the images.

"It's…it's…Ohhhhhhh," Hyuga gaped in what seemed like rapture before he passed out from it all.

"Makoto!" Maya gasped at her comrade passing out.

"Hey, this isn't the time to faint dude!" Aoba cried, dashing to rouse his friend.

* * *

Kaworu and Yamato watched the battle from a distance from the rooftop of a building. The building was far enough to not be caught in the crossfire but close enough to allow them to see.

"Quite a unique machine," Kaworu observed. "And it's made up of 12 living machines."

"Engines from the Machine World," said Yamato. "Never thought I'd see them in Tokyo-3 of all places."

"You know of them?" Kaworu inquired.

"You hear interesting things while you travel," said Yamato.

* * *

Eva Banki looked up at Engine-oh G12 but it was unafraid. It unleashed a roar and then started to lunge at Engine-Oh with its claws only for a single punch to knock it to the ground. Don Techapone was rocked about in his seat.

Meanwhile, Asuka, Rei and Shinji exited their Entry Plugs to see the action. Asuka stomped her foot in anger. "That should be me, kicking its ass right now!"

Rei was supporting Shinji, who was starting to recover from energy exhaustion. He too watched as Engine-Oh G12 fought against the Eva Banki.

Inside Engine-Oh G12's cockpit stood Kannami who was standing behind Go-OnRed's seat. "Hey, those are my friends," he pointed. Go-OnRed saw them on the ground near the fallen Evas. "I think we should bring them inside."

"OK!" Go-OnRed agreed. The more the merrier. Engine-Oh G12 then picked up the three Eva pilots with its hand and then brought them up into the cockpit.

"Kannami!" Asuka hugged the RinJyuKen artist.

"Hey, Red," smiled Kannami. So, Asuka did miss him.

Eva Banki rose up to its feet and roared as it attacked Engine-Oh G12 but its slashes did nothing. Engine-Oh G12 then raised its foot and kicked the giant BankiJyu away, knocking it to the ground.

"Aibou," Speedor spoke up, "We don't have much time. We have to finish this quick."

Go-OnRed nodded and then felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Mind some help?" asked Kannami.

"No, we don't," said Go-OnRed.

"I'll help too," said Shinji.

"Shinji, you're still tired," said Rei.

"Don't worry, Rei. I still got enough for one more blast," said Shinji.

The Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings were already setting up the finisher.

"Change! Highway Blaster!" the Go-Ongers called.

"Attention! Wing Booster!" the two Go-Onwings called.

"Ougi!" called Shinji as he called upon his Fierce Ki while Rei held his hand.

"Ougi!" called Kannami as he summoned up his Confrontation Ki as Asuka put her hand on his shoulder.

"Blaster Soul! Set!" the Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings called as they loaded the Blaster Souls into their weapons.

Their target was locked and they aimed, calling out, "LET'S GO ON!"

"GEKI RIN JYU DAN!" Rei, Asuka, Shinji and Kannami called.

Aura versions of Engine-Oh, Gunbir-Oh, Seiku-Oh and Kyoretsu-Oh burst out of Engine-Oh G12 and each took a swipe at Eva Banki, causing it to roar in pain. Then, an aura blast in the shape of beasts flung itself at Eva Banki as Engine-Oh G12 raced towards it. the aura beasts smashed into it at the same time as Engine-Ph G12 executed a flaming tackle.

"THIS IS THE FINAL CORNER!" the Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings called out.

"No! NONONONONO!" screamed Don Techapone as his Eva Banki started to spark and short out. "NOOOOOO!"

His wailing ceased as he along with Eva Banki were both engulfed in a huge explosion.

"CHECKERED FLAG!" the Go-Ongers concluded with their usual victory cheer.

* * *

"It appears they've won," said Kaworu, smiling, impressed.

"Never doubt the power of the hearts and souls of humans and Engines," said Yamato. Of course he was ready to engage the enemy if the Eva pilots and Go-Ongers had not appeared.

* * *

Engine-Oh G12 then separated and the Engines shrunk into Engine Casts with their Engine Souls in their partner's respective transformation devices. The Eva Pilots and the Go-Ongers faced each other.

"Shinji," said Sosuke.

"Sosuke-san," said Shinji.

The two then shook hands firmly before they turned and returned to their friends. The sun began to set as the Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings walked away into the sunset. Shinji put his arm around Rei who rested her head against his shoulder.

"So, where did you guys end up?" asked Kannami curiously. Their attire had inexplicably changed back into their Plug Suits as opposed to the costumed they wore in the other Brane Worlds.

* * *

The Go-Ongers and Go-Onwings managed to get away before a NERV recovery team and Section 2 showed up to pick up the pilots and the Evangelions. As soon as they returned, Misato pulled Asuka, Rei and Shinji into a suffocating hug and only released them when they she realized they needed air. Of course the pilots were going to be questioned about what had occurred. Meanwhile, Gendo had been called into a conference with SEELE who'd watched the battle and wanted to know what the hell was going on.

* * *

"So, what's the verdict Ritsuko?" asked Misato. Ritsuko had just examined the pilots and asked them a few questions.

"I think that Angel was giving them hallucinations," said Ritsuko. "I mean Asuka was telling me she ended up in a world filled with Santa Claus, Shinji told me he was in the wild west, Rei told me she was in a perpetual junkyard and Kannami said that he ended up in a world set in the samurai era."

"OK, guess that's one explanation," said Misato. "But what about that giant robot?"

"If we all hadn't seen it, I would've assumed it was a hallucination as well," admitted Ritsuko, frowning.

"Yeah, Shinji told me those machines were called Engines and that they were partnered to a group called…"

"Engine Sentai Go-Onger," Ritsuko finished.

"But you did say that Angel's insides was like some kind of alternate dimensional thing," said Misato.

"A Dirac Sea," Ritsuko clarified. "Well, we've had them checked out and there's no sign of Angel contamination of any kind. They're free to go."

"Oh, good. I was hoping to-"

"Not you," said Ritsuko. "As I recall you have a report to write about what happened."

"Oh, come on, Ritz!"

"Paperwork comes with the job, Misato."

* * *

While Misato was stuck at NERV with paperwork, the four Pilots were back in the comfort of Misato's apartment. Kannami had invited himself over, something Asuka was happy for.

Kannami and Rei were watching TV while Asuka soaked in the tub as Shinji was setting the table for dinner.

Kannami sighed after downing his canned drink, "Ah, nothing better than a can of Red Bull."

Rei blinked, unfamiliar with the term, "Red...Bull?"

"You've never heard of it, Blue?" Rei shook her head.

Shinji explained, "Rei, Red Bull is an energy drink."

Kannami added, "It recharges your batteries."

Rei tilted her head in confusion, "Humans have batteries?"

Asuka, who'd just come out of the bath with a towel wrapped around her as she dried her hair overheard the conversation about Red Bull. Asuka clarified, "It's just something that helps you perk up when you're tired, Wondergirl."

Shinji interjected, "Personally, I don't drink it. I prefer isotonic sports drinks."

Rei requested, "May I have some?"

Kannami tossed her another can, "Knock yourself out."

* * *

Misato whistled as she walked towards her apartment. After a busy day at NERV filing some paperwork, she needed a break and a can of Yebisu. As she entered the apartment, calling out, "Tadai…" she froze as she saw the state her apartment was in. It was like a tornado had hit. "WHAT HAPPENED HERE-!-?-!-?"

"Ugh…" Kannami groaned as he pushed the couch off himself and stood back up, stumbling a bit before cracking his neck. "I did not see that happening…"

"Kannami!" Misato shouted "What did you do?-!" Kannami and Shinji would start fights. Actually, Kannami would provoke Shinji and a mess was the usual result of their brawls. "Were you provoking Shinji agaia!-?"

"ME!-? It was Shinji's crazy girlfriend that did this!" Kannami stated loudly.

"Rei did this!-?" Misato exclaimed in shock

"Yep," Kannami confirmed. "She just had a bit of Red Bull and then she just went crazy! She threw the couch at me and destroyed the TV and I'm pretty sure she threw the fridge into the bathtub while she was singing 'This is the song that never ends"! Oh, and she grabbed Ikari-kun and dragged him into the bedroom."

"Why, and most important, who gave her Red Bull?" Misato asked.

"Look that's part not important-" Kannami began to state.

"It was him!"Asuke shouted as she got out of the closet, her clothes in disarray, causing Kannami and Misato to jump. "This musclehead was the dummkoff who gave Wondergirl Red Bull and made her crazy!"

"It was not my fault!" Kannami denied. "How was I supposed to know it would make her go nuts?"

"I still hold you responsible. Because of you, Wondergirl kissed me before pushing me into the closet-wipe that grin off your face!" Asuka shouted, seeing Kannami grin at that mental image.

"Sorry," the bedroom door slid open. They all turned to see Shinji walking into the living room, and he had a dazed expression on his face. He was also naked save for his boxers. "Say…is there anymore…Red Bull?" he asked.

"Hey, Red. I wonder how Red Bull will affect you," Kannami smirked.

"Don't you even dare!" she warned.


	25. Kageki!

Gendo's last meeting with SEELE had involved him listening to the 'Old Men' complaining about how the Scenario was being threatened. There were just too many variables that they had not accounted for and it had all began when Shinji first arrived.

Shinji, the son he'd abandoned in order to fulfill his own personal Scenario, whom he expected to be weak-willed had shown up and not only had he displayed a strong will, but a defiant spirit that would not be overcome by adversity. A part of Gendo, who was still a father, almost felt proud for his son but he squashed it. This was not what he wanted. Then, to make matters worse, Shinji and Rei had started a relationship and one Gendo had no power to interfere in since it was nothing NERV related and in addition this relationship seemed to benefit Rei as it allowed her Synch Ratio with Unit-00 to rise significantly.

He'd thought of replacing the Second Rei with a Third One but Ritsuko argued against such an action. Shinji would become suspicious and Rei still needed memories to function in order to fulfill her role in the Scenario. However, was that even possible now? Day by day the First Child was growing farther and farther from Gendo's reach and he had no control.

All because Gendo had sent for Shinji. When he saw those intense eyes on his son's face he was briefly reminded of Yui. Had Yui's strength been inherited by Shinji and had been brought out due to this GekiJyuKen that he practiced.

The Second Child had also been summoned but she had also changed farther than expected and all because Gendo had made Kannami Rukawa the 4th Child and her partner. The girl who kept people a arms-length actually showed genuine affection which was returned. This also boosted her confidence but not due to a superiority complex. This was something else.

Love.

Gendo grimaced as he thought back to another variable. Yamato who practiced GenJyuKen was also someone to watch out for. He was obviously not allied with Shinji or Kannami but they were civil enough with each other.

And then these new threats like that giant eel monster and that pseudo-Eva that had recently attacked. Just what was happening? The Dead Sea Scrolls had not foretold their arrival.

Gendo needed to think.

* * *

The pilots were at school, well all except for Rei. Ever since Rei's little mishap involving Red Bull, the girl had been banned from ever taking a sip of the drink. Strangely enough after Misato had reported the effects Red Bull had on her, all the stores that sold Red Bull had their entire supply of the energy drink bought up. Future shipments were also cancelled.

"I hate your dad," said Kannami. He really liked his Red Bull.

"I know, I hate him too," Shinji agreed. Rei had been rather affectionate during the whole Red Bull thing.

"Well, we better learn what drinks Wondergirl can or can't drink," said Asuka.

Rei wasn't with them. She was needed at NERV for tests and Shinji didn't like it. He gazed towards her empty seat and frowned.

"Worried, Ikari-kun?" asked Kannami.

"Yeah," Shinji admitted.

"HEY, SHINJI!" Kensuke yelled out.

"What is it, four eyes?" Asuka scowled.

"That big robot the other day! Where did it come from? Do you know, huh, do you?" Kensuke was talking about Engine-Oh G12.

"Kensuke please…" said Shinji. "That's classified."

"But it was so awesome!" Kensuke declared.

"It's classified!" Kannami roared in Kensuke's face.

* * *

Meanwhile, disaster had struck in the Nevada branch of NERV when the base mysteriously vanished in a flash. As a result, everything within an 89 km radius and thousands of people had just vanished, leaving nothing. According to official reports, there had been an experimental installation of an S2 Engine that would be capable of giving an Evangelion Unit and unlimited power supply. The Eva in question was Unit 04.

There was panic and the US government demanded that Unit 03 which was being built in Nerv's Massachusetts branch be removed immediately from American soil ASAP and be sent straight to Japan.

The Unit would be flown in from USA to Japan. During the flight, the plane carrying Unit 03 was enveloped in a strange cloud but it had no harmful effects to the plane or its cargo…yet.

* * *

"Well, that's all of it," said Ritsuko after downloading a new batch of Rei's memories. "All your memories are saved to disk."

Rei began to dress up and sighed. This was really something she didn't look forward to. On a weekly basis she needed to have her memories saved so that in the event she died then her new body would have memories. Still, this upset her.

Ritsuko, while she did not care very much for Rei but had started to ease up on the girl, asked, "Rei, what's wrong?"

"Dr. Akagi, what do you think Shinji would think if he knew?" Rei asked.

Ritsuko knew Rei was talking about the Reiquarium that housed her cloned bodies. When Ritsuko mentioned Shinji, she thought about the headaches the 3rd Child had brought her. Humans had their own mystical energy in them? Preposterous! But the evidence was there. "Well, I doubt he would hate you," said Ritsuko.

That didn't really reassure the bluenette. Shinji was caring but this, the truth, might just be too much for him.

She wished she had Red Bull right now. That did help ease some of her stress.

* * *

Several days later, the pilots were called to NERV.

"Another Eva?" gasped Asuka.

"Unit-03 has been flown in from the USA," said Ritsuko. "It'll be field-tested soon. All we've been doing up until now has been systems checks and whatnot."

"So, got a pilot?" asked Kannami.

"We do, Fourth Child," said RItsuko. Her eyes were on him.

"Wait…me?" Kannami was stunned. "My own Eva?"

"That's right," Ritsuko confirmed. "You've been chosen to pilot Eva-03."

Asuka hugged him, "That's so great!" She was proud of him.

Kannami's mind was a bit mixed up on the matter. On one hand he'd get his own kickass mecha to use his JyuKen Busou and other Ringi techniques in. On the other hand that meant that he'd have to own Gendo.

Pros VS Cons.

Heck, he's gonna get himself his own giant robot! But that would mean no longer co-piloting Unit-02 with Asuka. He actually enjoyed that.

But then the idea of having his own giant, humanoid fighting machine made him drool.

* * *

The testing site in Matsushiro was barren, far from the city, and perfect for a field test. Eva-03 was a massive black mecha that resembled the other Evangelions in terms of body shape but its head was sculpted differently.

Kannami already said he liked the color anyway. He sat in the Entry Plug, all communication systems online. "This is Black Bear ready for activation," said Kannmi.

Back at NERV, Asuka watched in anticipation. Shinji, of course, was looking up at the Commander who was watching coldly. He really didn't like seeing the man. Rei leaned in closer to Shinji. "Rei, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I feel happy for Pilot Rukawa," said Rei. "But…"

"But what?" asked Shinji.

"I have a feeling that something might go wrong," she told him. "I know my doubts are unfounded but…"

"You're worried for a friend, Rei. That's normal," he said, "But Rukawa-dono is not someone you need to be worried about. I grew up with him. He's so tough he makes a brick wall look weak."

"Yeah, relax Wondergirl," smiled Asuka. While originally put off by Rei for being like a doll, they had a really good relationship, inside and outside of NERV. "Kannami will do fine."

* * *

"He'll do fine, huh?" Shinji asked as he sat in his Eva's Entry Plug.

"Can it, Third!" Asuka snapped. In truth she was scared but hid it in her anger. This was not supposed to happen.

It had all happened so suddenly. One moment Unit-03 was working normally when MAGI suddenly alerted them of the presence of an Angel and it was Unit-03 itself! It was like that Angel that had tried to take over NERV's MAGI computer system before taking control of Project JA's remains. The difference was that one of their own was inside that thing.

Rei's prediction had come true and now they were being sent to fight one of their own comrades. Shinji had spoken to her about comradeship and its importance. It had been difficult for someone like Asuka to grasp but Shinji had managed to convince her using the human hand as an example.

The hand needed all its fingers, including the thumb, to work. That was teamwork and with teamwork came comradeship.

As the Eva carriers reached their destination, they released the Evangelions and allowed the three mechas to land onto the battlefield where the Angel now stood. It wore Unit-03 like its own skin but she was well aware that Kannami was inside the monstrosity and unlike the Gaiark's pseudo-Evangelion, this was the real deal. An Evangelion that had been taken over by an Angel and not only that it was one with its pilot trapped inside.

Communications couldn't reach Kannami at all.

And then the Commander's grim voice was heard over their communication link, "_The target has been confirmed as the Thirteenth Angel. Pilots, you are ordered to destroy it._"

"What about the pilot?" asked Rei.

"_That is irrelevant. Now, you know your orders. Destroy the Angel at all cost._"

Rei would've followed her orders without question but that was before Shinji had arrived and showed her a world beyond the one the Commander had made for her. She had always thought that her only purpose was to help Gendo accomplish her scenario but Shinji had opened up her mind, eyes and heart to other possibilities and she actually liked the world the way it was, including Shinji.

Asuka too would've followed orders because disobeying them would mean she would lose her rights as an Eva pilot, something she had trained for since she had been a child. It had been the one thing, the only thing, that mattered to her but that also changed before she met Shinji and Kannami. Before Kannami she had a crush on Kaji but then she started to realize that the man was just out of her reach and that it was a crush. Kannami, on the other hand, was a man despite being her age. He was mature, strong, dependable, and damn he was a good kisser.

As for Shinji, he was not going to follow such an order. Hell, his best friend was in that thing. Sure, he and Kannami may seem like enemies from time-to-time, especially during their usual arguments and brawls but they were the best of friends and also the most bitter of rivals. Shinji was not going to do something that could risk killing Kannami now that he was in the possessed Evangelion Unit-03. When one piloted Eva, one became one with the Eva and as such any injury and pain they inflicted on the Eva would be felt by the pilot to an extent based on synch scores.

With that, the three made their decision.

Shinji drew out the battle plan while the 9th Angel seemed to be studying them. "Wondergirl, Bat Boy, it's time we use the 'Circle of Confusion'."

The pilots had been working on combat strategies and Asuka had made up a few with unique names.

"Um, Asuka?" Shinji began. "It'll look like a triangle with just the three of us."

"Shinji is right," Rei agreed.

"Fine! '_Triangle_ of Confusion'! 'Parable of Mystery'! 'Rhombus of Terror'! I don't care! Just get into position!" Asuka snapped. She wasn't being mean but she was scared and trying to cover it up with her usual haughtiness. '_We're gonna get you out of there, Kannami._'

The three Evangelions didn't have any time to waste and surrounded their target. They had less than five minutes but if they worked together, not only would they be able to free Kannami from the Angel-possessed Eva, but kill it as well before time runs out.

With their Prog Knives, Asuka gave the command, "ALRIGHT! TRIANGLE OF CONFUSION! GO! GO!"

Units 01 and 00 moved first, dashing at the 9th Angel. Eva-01 was holding his Prog Knife in a reverse grip and he was aiming for the back of the Angel's neck where the Entry Plug should be. Asuka then backed Rei up, her Eva's Prog Knife gripped as well.

The Angel roared and unleashed its AT-Field, using it as a shield to prevent the blue and red Evangelions from advancing but Shinji was heading for its back and finally had an arm around its midsection. "OK, buddy! Time to get you out!" shouted Shinji.

* * *

Back at NERV, Gendo frowned and demanded, "Third Child, what are you doing!-? Your orders are clear! Destroy the Angel!"

Shinji ignored the commander while he tried to get a firm grip on the Angel he was holding, stabbing his Prog Knife next to the spot the Entry Plug was. He just hoped Kannami didn't feel the knife going into the back of his own neck.

"Rei! Second Child!" shouted Gendo. "Destroy the Angel!"

They too ignored him as they continued to charge into the Angel's AT-Field, using their own to counter it as they struggle to get close.

Finally, Units 00 and 02 were able to get close but then the Angle lashed out, grabbing them by the necks and squeezing them, hard. Shinji gasped, "Rei! Asuka!" He was distracted and the Angel took the opportunity to shrug him off before using a kick that sent him reeling. The 13th Angel then threw Asuka's Unit-02 across the ground, sending it crashing hard with its head hitting first, knocking her out. It then smashed Unit-00 to the ground violently. The impact knocked Rei out as well.

"Dammit!" Shinji cursed. There had to be a way. He opened the communications channel and set it to try and communicate with the pilot inside Unit-03. "RUKAWA-DONO! RUKAWA-DONO! BAKA-KUMA, WAKE UP!" Shinji shouted as he tried to get through to the possessed Unit-03.

"_Pilot Ikari, destroy the Angel now!_" Gendo commanded.

Shinji continued to ignore the Commander as he tried again to get through his friend, "RUKAWA-DONO, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! WAKE UP AND TAKE CONTROL!"

* * *

"Activate the Dummy Plug," Gendo ordered, angered by his son's insubordination.

"But, sir-" Makoto tried to object.

"Do it!"

"Yes, sir," Makoto obeyed, albeit reluctantly.

* * *

Shinji then began to notice that he wasn't in control. "What? No, my Eva!" His Eva was working on its own and it was going to kill the Angel with Kannami in it. "NO! STOP THIS NOW!" Shinji gritted his teeth as Eva-01 began to pound the possessed Unit-03 mercilessly as the Angel tried to fight back. "No, I'm not gonna be your puppet and neither is this Eva! Because I won't let you!" His body flared out with his Geki which was a mixture of black, violet, blue and green, "I WON'T LET YOU!"

Eva-01 suddenly flared out with Geki, but not just any Geki. It was Kageki, the ultimate form of Geki.

Inside, Shinji was donned in his GekiWing suit but now it had broader shoulders and colored mostly white with black gloves and boots and black markings on it. He was now Super GekiWing.

* * *

"Sir, the 3rd Child is overriding the Dummy Plug!" Makoto reported. Gendo gaped.

"That's impossible!" Gendo exclaimed.

"Well, Pilot Ikari seems to be full of surprises," said the Sub-Commander.

* * *

Once he regained control, Shinji tried again, "RUKAWA, YOU STUPID FUCKING BEAR! YOU'RE A WEAKLING! ARE YOU GONNA LET THIS ANGEL JUST BEAT YOU! THE RUKAWA I KNOW WON'T LET ANYBODY CONTROL HIM! ARE YOU STRONG, OR WAS THAT JUST TOUGH TALK!"

The screen in front of him showed static but then it blinked and showed a very pissed off Kannami glaring at him, his Rinki flaring, "SHUT UP YOU BAKA-KOUMORI! AN ANGEL IS NOT GONNA BEAT ME! RINKI GAISO!" Kannami transformed into QuadraBeast Rukawa, "AND NOW, JASHIN GOTEN HEN!"

Unit-03 suddenly froze when all of a sudden a huge fist smashed right out of it followed by another one. The Eva was slowly being torn apart from the inside out as a giant-sized QuadraBeast Rukawa dug himself out of the Eva which was falling apart due to the growing pilot.

The Angel now collapsed as Rukawa stood beside Unit-01. "**Looks like I learnt a new trick**," the giant RinJyuKen artist said. Rukawa then punched Unit 01. "**That's for calling me weak you bastard!**"

Super GekiWing laughed, "Glad to have you back, buddy."

"**How's Red?**" asked Rukawa.

"She'll be pissed when she wakes up," said Super GekiWing. "And I got less than a minute of power left too."

"**Well, the son of a bitch is dead**," the giant RinJyuKen artist pointed to the 9th Angel's remains.

* * *

Back at NERV, everyone on the bridge was staring at the screens and could not believe. Not only had the Fourth Child transformed into his armored state but he had also grown to gigantic size. As for Gendo, he was pissed off. The Children had challenged him, disobeyed him, and not only that, Shinji had been able to counter the Dummy Plug. How! How was the boy able to rebel against his Scenario time and time again?

And now to discover that the Fourth Child, Kannami Rukawa, had the ability to become a giant as well. He didn't need an Eva at all, not with this ability in his control.

Misato was surprised and happy. She was relieved that Kannami would not be killed.

"The Angel's energy signature is still active!" Makoto Hyuuga reported.

Dammit, why did she have to jinx herself?

* * *

The remains of Eva-03 were pulling itself back together. It seemed that having QB-Rukawa rip his way out of it had not been enough to kill it. It pulled its body back together but now it was on all fours and appeared beast-like as it roared to the heavens.

The gigantic QB-Rukawa and Evangelion-01 looked towards the revived Angel. QB-Rukawa, however, was grinning under his masked face. "**OK, now it's round two**."

Super GekiWing nodded but then he sensed another familiar Ki signature. "Yamato…?"

In the distance, gliding towards them, was none other than the GenOrochi, the 8-headed snake construct of Yamato, the only known living GenJyuKen artist and he was in his Yamato no Orochi form inside the construct. "I've come to assist," said Yamato.

QB-Rukawa snorted but Super GekiWing was glad for the assist. The three giants then stood side by side as the 13th Angel charged at them. "**Let's make it real! Time for the Triangle of Terror!**" declared QB-Rukawa.

"Geki…" spoke Super GekiWing, his Kageki rolling off him in waves.

"…Rin…" continued QB-Rukawa, his aura flaring in black and purple.

"…Gen…" added Yamato no Orochi, his golden Genki bursting from his pores.

"JYU HOU!"

The combined burst of energy flew through the air straight at the 13th Angel and rammed into its AT-Field, causing its surface to ripple before shattering it apart and hitting the Angel. It roared out as it was struck and then finally the beam widened, engulfing it, swallowing it right up, and then it died, leaving nothing in its wake.

"Win!" the three JyuKen artists declared, posing as best they could. Eva-01's battery then reached timed out as he'd used up all five minutes of his power.

* * *

"Yatta!" Misato cheered.

Gendo, however, was livid.

* * *

Now, Shinji was in a cell for insubordination. It suited him just fine. Of course, he was also there for assaulting a senior officer…guess who?

Yup, as soon as Shinji saw Gendo with his sneer, he rushed up and punched the man hard across the face, knocking him off his feet.

Then Shinji had said, "I have no idea what mother ever saw in you. You're nothing but a monster. You're a disgrace to her memory. I'm glad she's dead. At least she doesn't have to suffer through this. If she were to see you now and what you've done I bet she'd kill herself all over again."

That was why Shinji was sitting in the cell, in a meditative pose. It helped him calm down. Gendo certainly seemed ready to kill after that little comment about Yui. In fact, Shinji wasn't sure if he had seen so much emotion on the man's face since they were reunited.

'_I found a sensitive point,_' Shinji mentally congratulated himself. The only problem was what to do about it.

* * *

"This wasn't in the Scenario," Gendo frowned deeply. He was struggling to keep his reserve and the red mark on his face from when Shinji had punched him certainly reminded him of how off-track the Scenario was. "This was supposed to break the boy, make him more malleable."

"Apparently his spirit is very strong," Fuyutsuki commented. "Dr. Akagi did state that it was theoretically possible for the pilots to override the Dummy Plug if their willpower was strong enough."

"The influence of this GekiJyuken no doubt," Gendo frowned, pulling a bottle of whiskey from his desk with a shot glass. Gendo thought back to when he had the Third Child locked away and the look he got from Shinji. It was dark, like his, and intimidating.

Then his words had cut into him. '_No…Yui would never think of me as a monster_,' he assured himself. But there was doubt in his thoughts.

* * *

"_You can have me locked up for as long as you want, but you need me, and you know that," said Shinji. "Don't you?"_

* * *

Since the Dummy Plug system proved useless in Unit-01 because of the pilot, Gendo had to find something to regain control over the pilot.

* * *

Asuka had Kannami in a tight hug. She and Rei had been sent to NERV's hospital wing following the battle. She and the First Child had been knocked out during the battle but Asuka wasn't upset about that. She was just happy her big bear was alright.

Rei, of course, was still upset and for good reason to. Shinji had done as told and destroyed the Angel. It didn't really matter to her that they had ignored the Commander's orders to ignore the pilot's safety.

Asuka didn't even think Shinji deserved to be put in the brig. It just wasn't fair. "He'll be fine," Kannami assured Asuka. "Ikari-kun's been through worse."

"Are you sure?" asked Asuka.

"He's a bat," he told her. "He'll feel right at home."

"I still do not like it," said Rei.

"Relax, Blue. Ikari-kun's a tough customer to break." He rubbed his temples.

"You okay?" asked Asuka.

"Just got a headache," said Kannami. "It's nothing, Red."

* * *

The guards had not bothered to give Shinji any handcuffs when putting him in the brig and so he occupied himself by performing a few katas. It helped to calm his nerves as he went through the motions of his practiced Beast Fist styles.

What had really surprised him was that he had accessed Kageki, even though it had only lasted for a very short time. Kageki was the ultimate form of Geki, and it stemmed from a heart filled with justice, a heart filled with courage, but most of all a heart that protected.

Shinji had protected Kannami from his father's cruelty and so he was able to summon up the powerful Kageki, accessing his new Super GekiWing form. Speaking of witch, his Wing Changer had been confiscated but he knew Misato would be able to get it back for him.

As he continued to go through his kata, he thought back to how he was able to get into his father's head.

* * *

"Ugh, this is all bullshit!" shouted Misato as she and Ritsuko sat in the break room together. Seeing Shinji being taken to the brig had made her angry and Ritsuko understood why. While the blonde certainly agreed with Misato's frustration, this whole situation wasn't part of some superhero show. Actions had consequences and in the war with the Angels, that could mean the end of everything if someone decided to turn into a loose cannon.

"He did disobey orders," said Ritsuko. "Shinji wasn't supposed to rescue the pilot from the 13th Angel."

"Yeah, but he still killed the Angel!" said Misato. "He should be given a medal not thrown in the brig!"

"The Commander thinks otherwise," said Ritsuko. She'd seen Shinji mouth off at Gendo after punching him. She had to admit that if nothing else, the boy had brass balls the size of church bells. "He thinks Shinji needs to cool off in the brig."

"Well, I know Shinji can handle it," said Misato. Shinji could occupy himself.

"Oh, and when he gets out give him this," said Ritsuko as she handed Misato Shinji's Wing Changer. "It's an impressive piece of machinery."

Misato pocketed it, reminding herself to give it back to Shinji.

"Still, the Fourth Child really shocked everyone. He made himself gigantic," said Ritsuko.

"Ritz, since Shinji came we've seen him pull weapons of thin air and summon giant mechanical beasts out of thin air," said Misato. "I'm not surprised anymore."

"You're just not a scientist," said Ritsuko.

"Yup, because you're the one who's good at that stuff," said Misato. "Still, I hope Shinji gets out soon or I'm gonna have three very upset teenagers." Asuka would be upset that Shinji wasn't cooking, Rei would be upset because of Shinji's absence, and Kannami would be upset without his favorite sparring partner.

* * *

Rei hated this, she hated it a lot. The man she had once admired sat at his desk as she stood before him. She did not want to be in his presence.

"Rei, why did you disobey me?" Gendo asked.

"Your orders were to destroy the 9th Angel and thus we followed your orders," said Rei, eyes narrowed. "I do not understand why you had Shinji locked up for following orders. The Angel was destroyed, was it not?"

This was not something Gendo liked coming from Rei. She was too rebellious now and a wild card like Shinji. She had to be dealt with. She was even questioning his orders.

"And do not think of replacing me," said Rei. "Shinji will know and you do not want to make him angry, no more than he already is."

Gendo still had that shiner Shinji had given him, a mark that things had gone way out of control.

"You are dismissed," commanded Gendo and Rei gave a mocking salute before she exited.


	26. Burning Up! Cho GekiOh!

The sudden alarm which signified the appearance of an Angel had everyone at their stations. The Angel, labeled as the 14th was a massive creature with paper-thin arms that were folded like accordions and malformed, skull-like face. It had the ability to fire a laser from its mouth that was so powerful that it was able to destroy several layers of armor instantly.

Asuka and Kannami were in Unit-02 while Rei was in Unit-00. The bluenette inquired, "Where is Shinji?"

Misato answered through the communicator, "_Shinji's still locked up in solitary and the Commander won't authorize his release_."

"Bastard," scowled Kannami. He was sorely tempted to turn into his gigantic form and crush Gendo like a bug. Asuka silently agreed. The Commander of NERV had Shinji locked up just because he wanted to save his best friend.

"Don't worry," said Asuka confidently. "We'll be able to handle this damn Angel." It wasn't a boast. It was a promise. She had trained not only in Eva but in RinJyuKen with Kannami's guidance.

"Our sword will slice that bastard up, and maybe we can even get its head as a mantelpiece," said Kannami. "Might look good on the wall."

"I like the way you think," Asuka grinned, looking forward to grabbing any piece of the Angel as a souvenir.

"EVAS, LAUNCH!" Misato commanded and the Eva's were shot up towards the surface to engage the hostile Angel.

"Sho Rai Jyu! RinLion! JyuKen Busou!" called Kannami as soon as the red Evangelion reached the surface. The black lion roared as it manifested before its body converted into armor with its tail becoming a sword for Asuka's Evangelion.

"Slice and Dice time!" Asuka exclaimed as she charged at the Angel of Might. The monster looked at the red Evangelion and lashed out with its arms, the paper-like appendages unfolding like accordions and shooting at high speeds. However, the sword was able to counter the blows, knocking them back but also sending RinEva-02 staggering back.

Kannami chuckled. A strong opponent. Now this would be good.

Meanwhile, Eva-00 was using an assault rifle and shooting at the Angel but the AT-Field was getting in the way. Of course, this had the desired effect of distracting the Angel long enough for RinEva-02 to land a slash across the Angel's face. It roared out in pain from the gash over its eye and then attacked. It wrapped its arms around the red Eva and then slammed it to the ground. Kannami and Asuka felt the pain from the slams.

"LET GO!" Kannami roared and RinLion roared as well, unleashing a Ki Energy bullet from its mouth which hit the Angel in the face, forcing it to release its captive.

"We better finish this thing-" said Asuka only to be interrupted when the Angel's arms shot forward and sliced her Eva's arms at the shoulders. "ARGH!" Asuka screamed and so did Kannami as their synch with the machine caused them to feel like their own arms had been cut off. The pain was so immense and they felt like they were going to die.

FLASH!

A blast from the Angel sent the armored red Eva flying backwards, knocking it to the ground. Its pilots were knocked out as a result.

The Angel then turned its sights upon Rei.

* * *

The door to Shinji's cell opened and standing at the entrance was Misato. "Shinji, we need you."

Shinji had been doing pushups which stopped as soon as Misato opened the door. "Finally," he said, sighing. "I was wondering when you'd let me out."

"I know, but I wouldn't be celebrating because we have…"

"An Angel problem," he finished. That was the only reason Gendo would want him released. "What about Asuka, Kannami and Rei?"

"They were defeated and injured." Misato saw Shinji's teeth clenched.

"Let's go," said Shinji. "But I'm not taking my Eva."

"You're not?" Misato blinked.

Shinji gave her a smile as he showed her his hand, which flared up with energy. "I have a better alternative." He held out his hand, "My Wing Changer, if you please."

"You have a plan, don't you?" asked Misato as she returned the wrist device to Shinji.

"Oh yeah," Shinji grinned.

* * *

"Where's Shinji?" Ritsuko asked as Misato returned to the bridge. "You were supposed to bring him back so he could get into his Eva."

"He had other plans," said Misato.

"Misato…" Ritsuko growled in a warning tone.

"Sempai, look!" Maya pointed and Ritsuko turned only to gape. From where he stood, Gendo also frowned as he watched as another wrench was being tossed into his carefully laid out scenario.

It was the GekiBeasts: GekiBat, GekiWolf, GekiElephant and GekiShark. The bat was soaring through the air with the stampeding elephant and running wolf with the shark 'swimming' through the air.

"Major, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Gendo.

"The Third Child suggested an alternative method to stop the Angel, sir," responded Misato.

"And who authorized this?"

"I did," Misato responded.

Inside GekiBat, GekiWing was in his Super Gekiranger form. After transforming into his Super Form for the first time, he found transforming into again to be much easier. He had never felt as strong as he did now and he felt like he could do anything, like what he was about to do.

"GO!" commanded Super GekiWing as the GekiBeasts went on the attack. GekiWolf was the first as it leapt into the air and rolled its body into a wheel which spun and attacked the Angel. It put up its AT-Field to block the frontal assault but then it was struck by GekiElephant's weight. Not even its AT-Field could withstand the strength of the GekiBeast.

"It's time!" said Super GekiWing. Now it was time to show everyone his new technique.

"CHO JYUKEN GATTAI!" Super GekiWing commanded from within the GekiBat. The bat-like aura construct let loose a screech, commanding the elephant, shark and wolf-like constructs to follow. GekiElephant jumped onto its hind legs as its head moved down to its chest, trumpeting as its forelegs moved up and straightened out the sides. Then GekiWolf and GekiShark folded in their bodies, the wolf connecting to the spot under GekiElephant's right foreleg and the GekiShark taking the spot under the left foreleg. Finally, the GekiBat situated itself behind GekiElephant, connecting to the combined mecha's body to become its wings. Finally, a new head popped out between its shoulders. It was a silver, human-looking, face with red eyes, wearing a helmet that was decorated with elephant tusks that framed the face, a pair of bat wings where the ears should be and topped by a shark-like fin.

"Complete! Cho Geki-Oh! Burning Up!" Super GekiWing called from within his mecha. The elephant head on Cho Geki-Oh trumpeted loud and proud.

Back at NERV's bridge, everyone was gaping, with an exception of Gendo whose hands were clenching tightly onto the railing. This battle was supposed to be the event which would cement his scenario even further, where Eva-01 would consume an S2 core and become the key piece of the scenario. If the Eva never even saw battle, then there would be no chance for the S2 to be consumed! His scenario would be ruined!

The other members of the bridge crew had to wonder just how Shinji managed to do what they did, but they weren't complaining! There were some fears that it wouldn't be able to perform as well as an Eva, but whatever kept them from getting killed by the Angel was good enough for them!

"OK, ugly!" taunted Super GekiWing. "Let's dance!"

The Angel of Might roared and attacked, sending out its arms to attack, but the black GekiRanger was prepared as GekiShark's fins on the side extended and then swung forward, joining together at its snout to form a sword. With a swing, he sliced the Angel's paper-like arms like ribbons. "Gekizawa: Nami Nami Zan!"

Surging forward, Cho Geki-Oh began to spin around the Angel, slashing at it with the GekiShark Sword. The Angel roared in pain. It tried to fire its laser weapon at the JyuKen Giant but a kick into its jaw caused it to misfire into the air.

"Elephant Kick!" called out Super GekiWing as the giant construct of Fierce Ki jumped high and came down with both legs stretched out. The Angel attempted to defend himself with an AT-Field but Super GekiWing pumped his own Kageki into his mecha, allowing it to bypass the energy shield and shatter it as the trunk-like legs of Cho Geki-Oh smashed it straight in the face, slamming it to the ground with a loud crash.

"GO SHINJI!" Misato cheered. "KICK ITS ASS!" She didn't care how the Angels were beaten, as long as they were, and Shinji was doing a fine job in that new construct of his. Ritsuko was wondering how Shinji could manifest that construct with his own energy and make it so solid. Gendo, of course, would be having a few words with the Third Child.

Cho Geki-Oh then picked up the Angel, wrapping its arms around the enemy monster from behind before shooting skyward with the air of GekiBat's wings. Once it reached maximum altitude, it began to dive towards the ground, the struggling Angel trying to break free before Cho Geki-Oh slammed it face first into the dirt. The Angel let out what sounded like a moan as it tried to push itself back up and Super GekiWing was prepared.

The tip of GekiElephant's trunk sported the Elehammer and Super GekiWing put it to good use. Once the Angel rose up, its face met with the meteor hammer and it was thrown backwards.

"Now, to finish it!" declared Super GekiWing as he targeted the Angel's core. "Gekiwaza: Dai Gan Gan Gan!" The Elehammer shot forward and slammed into the Angel's core, retracting back only to shoot forward again. This continuous barrage went on for several seconds before visible damage could be seen on the Angel's core which began to crack from the continuous impacts. Finally, one last blow was all that was needed to shatter the core to pieces and the Angel of Might roared in agony before it exploded.

"Knock Out!" declared Super GekiWing. "Cho Geki-Oh! Win!"

Cho Geki-Oh trumpeted proudly, throwing its arms up victoriously.

* * *

While recovering in the hospital wing, Asuka, Rei and Kannami had heard about Shinji's victory and while the redhead was upset that she didn't get to kill an Angel, she was still glad that Shinji had been released from solitary and Kannami was impressed that Shinji not only had summoned all his GekiBeasts simultaneously, but also managed to use Beast Fist Combination to create Cho Geki-Oh. Unit-00 and Unit-02 would need extensive repair following the battle with the Angel of Might but would be operational again by the time the next Angel arrived.

Gendo, however, was brooding. For his Scenario he'd prepared for any threat that would dare to get in his but never had he even imagined, in a million years, that the biggest threat to his plans would be his own son! In his Scenario, Shinji was supposed to be easily manipulated, a weak-willed boy who would not be able go against him, and a pawn to his plans. However, what he got was a strong-willed young man who'd been raised with the ideals of a martial arts style he'd never heard of with abilities he'd never thought possible. Shinji wasn't just strong mentally but physically as well as he'd defeated the Commander in their spar many months ago.

More and more unknown variables had made themselves known as well. The appearance of the Gekirangers and then the Go-ongers, as well as new threats like the Gairk and remnants of RinJyuDen was something he had not been prepared for. There was also Yamato to consider but the Orochi-ken user had not tried to interfere, only assisting when necessary.

In an attempt to put Shinji under his control, he'd tried to use the Dummy Plug and force the boy to kill his own friend. However, Shinji's willpower had been able to break the Dummy Plug and override it, something he never thought possible. He'd tried to bring the Scenario back under control, trying to find a solution, but ultimately none of them worked.

And now…Shinji had ruined his plans yet again by not only engaging the Angel without his Eva, but actually winning and without gaining an S2 Organ!

All his plans, all his preparations, had been ruined by a 14 year old boy!

And yet Gendo briefly saw Yui in Shinji; that strong will which refused to be dominated. It would appear that Shinji had inherited Yui's spirit after all.

Something had to be done and soon or all his plans would be completely ruined!

* * *

Ritsuko was reviewing the latest footage, which was the battle against the 14th Angel. Unit-00 and Unit-02 had been soundly defeated despite putting up a fight and then Shinji arrived. He did not pilot his Unit-01 either but instead had summoned all his GekiBeasts and commanded them all to combine into a humanoid mecha which stood as tall as an Evangelion Unit, defeating the Angel with its awesome power.

Ritsuko, since Shinji arrived, had been trying to uncover the secrets of this Ki but unfortunately for her the realm of Ki manipulation was beyond science. Science didn't even recognize Ki. But the proof was right there. The first time Shinji entered his Eva he was able to generate this Ki into an attack that resembled a wolf, manifest weapons, and even summon up GekiBeasts to become armor and equipment for the Evas.

Then there was Kannami who claimed to have used his Ki to turn himself into a giant. With Shinji's ability to create his own mecha out of Ki and Kannami's ability to become a gigantic version of his armored self, those two definitely did not need Evangelions to pilot if they could do that.

It was all giving her a headache and Gendo was ordering her to find a way to neutralize this Geki and Rinki energy the Third Child and Fourth Child and could utilize. But where was she to start? It was easier said than done.

She had even examined the Wing Changer and its technology was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was able to solidify Shinji's Geki to form his Geki Suit, transforming him into GekiWing. She almost regretted giving it to Misato to return to Shinji but it was his. Ritsuko did, however, find a sense of satisfaction in seeing Gendo's plans fall apart because of his son. He concealed his anger, but not enough.

* * *

"Next time, Third Child, the Angel's mine!" Asuka challenged furiously.

"It's only fair, I guess," shrugged Shinji.

"Looks like Ikari-kun and I won't ever need to pilot Evas with our new powers," grinned Kannami. "I can just go giant and he can form his own Geki-Touja."

"Cho Geki-Oh," Shinji corrected.

"Whatever."

"I could not believe it when I was told, but after seeing the recording I am most impressed," said Rei.

Kannami, Rei and Asuka had recovered from their injuries as a result from battling the Angel of Might. It still hurt Asuka's pride that she was unable to defeat an Angel this time but Kannami's comforting and encouraging words cheered her back up. Asuka didn't admit it out loud, but she was impressed by how Shinji did against the Angel. Right now they were having ice cream at the local ice cream parlor, which had become their hangout spot.

"So, how did you do it, Shinji?" Asuka asked. Shinji had told them about the battle.

"Kageki, right?" Kannami questioned.

"Kageki, as in the strongest version of Geki, is it not?" inquired Rei.

"You're both right," confirmed Shinji. "Before I could harness Kageki, I could barely summon more than one GekiBeast, but now it seems so easy."

"Yeah, I mean when we fought that pseudo-Eva you almost passed out," Asuka recalled. "So, does this mean you're gonna abandon piloting your Eva?"

"I don't seem to need it now but I'm still new at using Kageki," said Shinji.

"So, why did you do it?" Asuka asked.

"To piss off the old man," Shinji answered. He then saw a couple enter the shop. "Touji! Hikari!"

"Oh, hey Shinji!" Touji waved.

"So, finally got the nerve to ask our Class Rep out," teased Kannami, grinning, which made Touji and Hikari blush.

"No way," Asuka uttered in disbelief. "Hikari, you and jock boy here?"

"Touji's really nice, Asuka," defended Hikari.

"Well, you could do worse, like geek boy," Asuka muttered, referring to Kensuke. "Congrats, I guess."

"So, this means we can triple date!" Shinji said, smiling. "Rukawa-dono with Asuka, me and Rei, and Touji and Hikari!" He clapped his hands together. "It'll be awesome!"

Touji looked at Asuka and Kannami and decided against it quickly, "I…I dunno about that, Shinji. I mean, thanks for the offer, but I think Hikari and I prefer to just have a date where it's just us."

"Eh, suit yourself," Shinji shrugged. Shinji looked out the window and saw people panicking and fleeing from something. He then saw Rinshi hopping past the window. "Oh, great."

"What are those things?" Hikari gasped as several Rinshi forced themselves into the ice cream shop.

"Dead meat," said Kannami. "Rinki Gaiso!"

"Beast On!" called Shinji.

The RinJyuKen and GekiJyuKen artists transformed into their fighting forms and leapt into action, surprising Touji and Hikari.

"We get used to it," Asuka shrugged. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

* * *

"Another one of my siblings has been defeated," said Kaworu as he sat at the edge of a building, looking down at the battle below. GekiWing and QB-Rukawa were beating down Rinshi left and right.

"How do you feel?" inquired Yamato, passing a candy bar to his friend.

"I don't know. Grief, maybe?" guessed Kaworu as he took a bite of the candy. "I am still amazed at what you Lilim have come up with."

"Ki energy," said Yamato. "It's amazing what you can do with it."

"Indeed," Kaworu agreed. "So, shall we intervene or enjoy the show?"

"They can handle things," said Yamato. "Have you decided on what to do with _them_ yet?"

"I have yet to come to a decision, but soon I will."

"Don't wait too long then, Kaworu. Just because you have eternity by your side is no excuse to procrastinate. Every second counts."

"A Lilim concept but I will keep that in mind."

"See that you do, Kaworu."

"Please, call me Tabris."

The Kin no Hebi and Angel of Free Will then continued to watch the battle.

**KAMEN RIDER CHROME: The emergence of Cho Geki-Oh is gonna really fuck up Gendo's scenario since it didn't go as he'd originally planned. Of course another twist is gonna turn up in the next chap. Let's just say all you Gendo haters are gonna love it.**


	27. In The Belly of the Beast

After the battle with the 14th Angel, Shinji was brought to Gendo's office by Section 2 escorts. The young man knew these men were shaking as they had been informed in one way or another of what the Third Child could do and what abilities he had. He could sense them shaking and if he'd been a user of RinJyuKen or even GenJyuKen he might've taken some pleasure out of their trembles in fear.

When they reached the door, Shinji rapped it with his knuckles and he heard Gendo respond, "Enter." The door slid open and Shinji went in.

"You should really change the décor," said Shinji as he looked around the Commander's office. He would never think of this man as his father. If the man saw fit to disown him than Shinji would do the same. The man he knew as his father had died along with his mother. "It's depressing."

Ignoring the quip, Gendo leveled his eyes on Shinji and demanded, "Why did you not take the Eva Unit?"

"Considering what the Angel did to Unit-00 and Unit-02, I didn't think Unit-01 would've been able to handle it," Shinji answered honestly.

"It does not matter what you think, Pilot. You are to follow my orders," Gendo shot back.

"I got the job done, didn't I?" Shinji retorted. "Angel's dead, Geofront's safe, and I make NERV look good," he listed. "I don't see why I have to be here."

Gendo was controlling his temper but this boy showed no fear, and was not even intimidated by Gendo. Then again, this boy had defeated him at close combat months ago. He could still hear the gossip about how the Commander had been beaten by a 14 year old boy. "I hereby order you to never use those constructs again."

"Or you'll do what?" Shinji countered. Gendo gritted his teeth. "Those 'constructs' as you call them are part of me, Commander. Unlike the Evangelion, I can summon them whenever I want, even right in here." His body began to flare with golden Ki, which caused Gendo's eyes to widen. "Let me make one thing clear, _Father_," retorted Shinji, "I can crush you like a bug whenever I want, heck I could just summon GekiElephant and have him sit on you. The only reason I came was for the memory of my mother, your wife, but seeing what you've become now has made me think things through. I can just quit NERV and never pilot again. Face it, Commander. You need me, I don't need you."

Gendo was shaken by the display as Shinji did an about face and exited the office, leaving the man stunned at his desk. Gendo actually had a gun hidden under his desk but had not been able to draw it. Something had stopped him.

It was Shinji's eyes, the eyes of his mother. Those eyes that were able to make Gendo stop in his tracks.

'_There has to be something I can do_,' thought Gendo desperately. He needed to get HIS Scenario back on track.

* * *

Two weeks ago the 14th Angel had attacked NERV. It had been powerful, with combat abilities that easily defeated Unit-00. Unit-02, with Asuka and Kannami piloting it together, had also put up a fight but in the end the Angel had also beaten them, slicing off the red Eva's arms. Shinji, who'd been kept in solitary, was let out to deal with the Angel. He was angry that he had not been released when the Angel had first attacked and considered this to beanother shining moment of Gendo's 'genius'. Instead of using the Eva, Shinji decided to fight with something else and had summoned his Geki Beasts before commanding them to perform a Super Beast Fist Combination, forming a construct known as Cho Geki-Oh. With his new weapon, Shinji had defeated the Angel. Later, he was questioned about using the 'unauthorized' mecha instead of his Eva and Shinji had told Gendo that he did not want to risk having his Eva's control taken from him like the last time. Livid, but still keeping calm, Gendo had ordered Shinji to go through a battery of synch tests and this time they were to be done in his Evangelion Unit. Shinji didn't argue about it. They all went on as normal until Shinji was told to activate his Kageki by Ritsuko. This, however, caused his Synch Score to climb beyond 100 percent, climbing straight to 400 percent. He'd been screaming in pain and when it was all over all that was left of Shinji was his empty plug suit that was floating in LCL.

And that had been two weeks ago.

* * *

Two weeks ago, Kannami Rukawa lost his best friend. Three days later he got himself thrown into solitary confinement for assaulting the commander. After Kannami came face to face with Commander Ikari for the first time after Shinji's disappearance, he socked him in the face. Section 2 showed up quickly but the enraged Rinki user tore through them like they were nothing. By the time he was finished, Section 2 was decimated, and Gendo had three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and his right arm was shattered. After Misato was forced to lock Kannami away in solitary, she asked him one question, "Was it worth it?"

"Absolutely," was the answer he'd given without regret.

* * *

"You do realize standing there, staring at it won't bring him back, right?" asked Asuka. She was standing against the railing of the catwalk that faced the Evangelions. Eva-01 was being repaired as did 02 and 00.

Rei was standing in front of Eva-01. There were numerous wires hooked up to it. Dr. Akagi was working on a way of getting Shinji out but even after over two weeks there hadn't been any change. "I do not care. I will wait."

Asuka sighed. Rei was loyal to Shinji and not to the commander. In fact Asuka herself was disgusted at how Gendo didn't seem to care that his son was gone. It made her think of her own father and how he'd remarried just after her own mother had died.

"How is Pilot Rukawa, I mean Kannami, doing?" asked Rei.

"Those damn idiots in Section 2 won't let me see him," growled Asuka. "I need Misato but she's too busy to help." Her fists were clenched. "Damn that idiot! Why did he get himself into trouble like that?"

"I believe it was because Shinji, his best friend, was absorbed into Eva-01 and the Commander cares little of what has occurred," said Rei, voicing Asuka's thoughts.

"This is just so messed up," said Asuka. She was angry that she'd lost but that anger was nothing compared to the anger she felt about Kannami being thrown into solitary. And if he hadn't attacked the Commander, she would have. She cared about Shinji too. They were friends, teammates, and now he was gone.

She missed Shinji, and not just for his cooking, and she was starting to miss Kannami too. Heck, Misato missed Shinji as well and was stressed out by waiting for results. She'd even snapped at Dr. Akagi a few times and one time was passed out drunk in the living room.

Rei had taken Shinji's disappearance the worst. True, she had felt loneliness before but it had yet to register until Shinji's arrival. She wanted him back and was ready to give anything to make the pain go away. For a moment, she understood what the Commander must have felt when his wife vanished over a decade ago.

Still, she was hoping, with all her heart, that Shinji, her Shinji, would return.

* * *

"Where the fuck am I now?" muttered Kannami. One moment he was alone in his cell, and now he was sitting in a dark forest. "Hn…No animal sounds…not good."

"_There are no animals here Kannami Rukawa_," spoke a voice that sounded similar to childish laughter. Kannami turned and saw a beautiful young woman approaching him. She was dressed in a black sundress and had black hair with blue highlights. She also had dark eyes. She almost resembled Asuka if it weren't for the different eye and hair color.

"And who or what are you?" growled Kannami. He flexed his fingers as he prepared to fight.

"_I am Bardiel, the 13__th__ Angel_," spoke the girl.

"Right…" said Kannami. "And I'm a pretty little ballerina."

"_You Lilim and your sarcasm_," the woman chuckled. "_How amusing_."

"No offence, but we killed the 13th Angel," said Kannami. "So, how the heck are you here?"

"_When I infected your machine, I left a bit of myself inside of you_," Bardiel explained.

"I'd feel offended if you weren't so cute. But don't tell Red I said that. She'd kill me."

"_Tch, can't believe I'm stuck in the mind of such a perverted Lilim,_" sighed Bardiel.

"Hey!" shouted Kannami. "How do you know I'm perverted!"

"_Your mind is an open book to me Lilim. Tell me, does that little redheaded girl know about what you want to do to her?_"

Kannami roared as he leapt at Bardiel, only for the Angel to flip him and force him to land on his back as she straddled him. "I don't know whether to be turned on or pissed off."

Bardiel leaned in closer so their faces were mere inches away. "_You are angry over what has happened to your comrade, are you not?_"

"Very," snarled Kannami. He may never admit it, but he viewed Shinji as a brother. "Can you help me get him back? He's…important to me. If anything ever happened to him I could never forgive myself. So tell me Bardiel, can you help me get him back?"

"_Unfortunately, I cannot_," said Bardiel. "_If he wants to return he must do it with his own power_."

"So, what DO you want?" Kannami demanded.

"_Your assistance to find the All Father_," answered Bardiel.

"All Father?"

"_The one you Lilim refer to as 'Adam'_."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Gendo doesn't tell me shit and he sure as hell ain't gonna tell me now."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shinji was in a green field of grass, sitting up. He was dressed in his usual clothing comprised of a purple Chinese shirt with black pants and slippers. Sitting next to him was his mother, Yui Ikari.

When Shinji had been absorbed into the Eva, he'd found himself in this place and with his mother no less. She was as he remembered and he just ran to her, hugging her. He missed her as one day he was hoping to see her. At first he thought this was all a dream until he found out that he was indeed inside the Eva and right now in a world Yui had created so she could exist and stay sane within the construct.

Yui was angered by Gendo's callous treatment of her son but then Shinji told her about what had happened since the day Gendo left him. He told her about the Gekirangers, and the Beast Sages who took care of him and trained him, making him strong both physically and mentally. Also, he told her about his best friend, Kannami. Yui laughed as she heard about the things her son and his best friend did in their younger days and was upset that they would fight but Shinji explained that was how they showed their friendship.

He also told her about Rei, the girl he loved, and Yui couldn't help but tease her son about how he was growing up.

Still, Yui needed to tell Shinji something very important. Shinji would need his strength to fight whatever was coming.

* * *

Rei stood in front of Evangelion Unit-01, her red eyes burning with anger and tears desperation, her fists clenched at her sides. She began to shout hysterically at it, "Give him back! Give my Shinji back!" She wanted him to hold her, to tell her everything was alright, but as the day turned to weeks she began to feel a pain in her heart, a pain she never thought possible. "Return my Shinji to me!" she demanded loudly. She hated the purple Eva now for taking her Shinji from her, like how she hated the Commander for not caring one bit about his son. It was such a strange emotion, this hatred, but she felt satisfied when it was targeted on those who took the one she loved from her.

Ritsuko found Rei screaming at the Evangelion. The blonde scientist now realized how much the blue-haired girl had changed from the emotionless shell to this young woman who was hysterically yelling at a humanoid war-machine. She couldn't help but feel sympathy for her, despite her dislike for her in the past.

Rei had changed and it was all because of Shinji. And this change was a good thing, as Rei would not follow Gendo's orders without question ever again.

And this was three weeks since Shinji's disappearance. It was also during the third week that something else happened which shocked NERV.

* * *

"The commander's dead?" Misato asked. She had gone to see Ritsuko to talk about her regarding her progress to extract Shinji from his Eva. That was when Ritsuko dropped the news on her.

"He was found dead in his home," said Ritsuko.

Misato asked, "Do you know what caused it?"

"From the autopsy, it appears that he was mauled by a wild animal," answered Ritsuko. She'd gone to visit Gendo, after she'd received an urgent message from him. She guessed that it was for his usual booty call but when she came into his abode, she found the entire place ransacked with claw marks in the walls and finally she found Gendo, lying in a pool of his own blood, with his right hand missing as well. The state of his body suggested a wild animal had attacked him.

"Looks like Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki will be filling up the late Commander Ikari's shoes from now on," concluded Misato.

"Seems like it," agreed Ritsuko. She saw Misato walking off and asked, "Where are you going."

"To get some answers, and have Kannami released from solitary," said Misato. Kannami had been thrown into solitary confinement at Commander Ikari's orders but with Gendo dead there was no need to keep Kannami in there. She also needed answers.

* * *

Asuka, while upset with his stupidity, had to admit that he'd done something incredibly ballsy. Unlike her, he really didn't care if he was an Eva Pilot or not. The only reason he stuck around was because of the redhead after all.

Kannami wasn't blind, however, and knew that like Rei Asuka missed Shinji terribly and not because of the Third Child's cooking. Shinji was among the few that could challenge her and even break her out of that shell she built around herself. Sure, she could be mean and kind of a bitch sometimes but Shinji had extended a hand of friendship to her without any reason other than to be her friend. Heck, she even considered Rei her friend even if the bluenette albino looked like a doll to her.

Rei never showed it in public but Asuka had once heard Rei crying in her room, her sobs filled with the utterance of Shinji's name. While Rei kept up a cool façade in front of others, in private she cried her heart out. Asuka never cried, swearing that she never would out of pride, but sometimes she felt like she had to release all this frustration somehow.

"Look, as much as I want to admit I did the deed, I did not," answered Kannami as Misato glared at him. She'd interrogated him and he insisted he had not killed the Commander, despite having the perfect motive for it.

"Still, you're a suspect," said Misato.

"But he was in solitary confinement the entire time!" insisted Asuka. "There's no way he could've done it!"

"A normal person may not be able to do it, but Kannami isn't normal," said Misato. The kid could summon armor and turn into a giant and it was all thanks to Rinki. Maybe he could kill at a distance.

"Indeed," agreed Rei. "Rukawa possesses the same capabilities as Shinji." The mention of his name caused her to pause a little before she continued, "He could've manifested his Rinki into the form of a lion which attacked the Commander."

"Whose side are you on, Wondergirl?" hissed Asuka. She knew Kannami was capable of violence, but never murder, even if the prick (Gendo) deserved it.

"Misato, as much as I wanted to take credit for killing the old bastard, I can safely say that I did not use my Rinki like that," said Kannami. He added, "I swear on the names of my two senseis. Besides, if I wanted to kill him I would've done it while I was beating him up."

Misato was still skeptical and asked, "But who else could it be?"

"Grizzaka," supplied Rei. Misato looked at her. "Pilot Rukawa is not the only one with claws, Major Misato. Grizzaka has claws too."

"But why would he kill Commander Ikari?" questioned Misato.

"Maybe the bastard pissed him off," suggested Kannami. He had a feeling a guy like Gendo had made a ton of enemies. "And then took his hand as a trophy."

* * *

"Shinji, what's wrong?" Yui asked.

"I miss them, Mom," said Shinji. "I miss Misato, Rei, Asuka and Rukawa-dono."

"Yes, you do," agreed Yui.

"I wish I could find a way to get out of here!" shouted Shinji. He had to find a way to get out of this place, and maybe even bring his mother with him, but how? How! There had to be a way!-? But this was another dimension. Just how was he supposed to come out!-?

* * *

Gou Fukami had arrived in Tokyo-3. He wasn't alone though as he was accompanied by what appeared to be a cat that stood on two legs like a man and was dressed in red with a blue scarf around his neck.

"Let us go," the cat-man said to Gou.

"At once, Sensei."

* * *

**KAMEN RIDER CHROME: How Shinji and Yui come out. Let's just say an old cat decides to pay Misato a visit. Just stay tune for more.**


	28. The Return of Shinji

When Asuka returned to school one day, she saw the note Misato had left on the table. Misato was working overtime at NERV again, or so it said. Asuka knew it was really just a lie. Misato just needed some alone time, which Asuka accepted. Misato had her own way of dealing with things.

"That's okay, Misato," she said, staring balefully at the note. _'Why don't you just come out and admit you're worry about Shinji being trapped in that machine instead of lying about working overtime?_'

It'd been almost four weeks since Shinji's disappearance and Asuka was just as affected as her fellow pilots. It showed in her synch scores which fluctuated. She never admitted it out loud but she did miss Shinji. He was one of the few real friends she had.

Rei wasn't home, again. The bluenetta was at the Eva cages, waiting for Shinji to just appear. As for Kannami, lately he had been in training. Very intense training. Again, Asuka knew that was his way of dealing with his sadness. They all had outlets, even Asuka.

She sighed as she realized that everyone was reacting very badly to Shinji being trapped in his Eva, with Rei being the most affected, and Kannami was becoming more distant as his best friend was gone with possibly no chance of coming out. "Damn it Shinji, come back already," Asuka muttered to herself.

* * *

One day later, Misato, Kannami, Rei and Asuka were at the apartment together when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," said Misato as she put down her can of Yebisu and went towards the door. When she opened it, her eyes widened as she gasped in shock at what she was seeing.

Rei, Asuka, and Kannami walked up behind Misato to see what had shocked her. Standing at the door was a light-furred, male, humanoid cat, with both its eyes close and wearing a red outfit with a scarf around his neck and a Chinese vest. Both Asuka and Rei were quite surprised to see the cat-man and his physical appearance, but Kannami eyes widen as he uttered, "Master Sha-fu," making all three girls look at him. How did he know this cat-man's name?

"Don't forget about me," another man spoke as he stood up from behind Sha-Fu. He tapped his fist against his forehead in greeting, "Greetings, my name is Gou Fukami. I'm Shinji Ikari's sempai." This made all three girls eyes widen in shock. Rei and Asuka remembered meeting him with the others GekiRangers when they had helped them against the Meteor Angel. Gou was wearing a purple jacket with black pants.

"Nice to see you again, Master Sha-Fu and Master Gou., Kannami said getting in the front and bowing slightly. "Why are you both here?" he asked.

"We're here because we're worried about Shinji," Gou answered

"Yes, it been a long time since he's contacted and anything we were afraid something may have happened," Sha-Fu added in concern.

"Well, come inside," Kannami invited. He turned to look at the stunned girls, "Why are you girls doing just standing there? Welcome them in!"

* * *

"Thank you for the tea," said Master Sha-Fu as he sat on the couch. Misato still couldn't believe what she was seeing and she'd seen a lot of things.

"Stop staring," Kannami hissed. "It's rude."

Asuka had never seen Kannami treat anyone with such respect before and wanted answers. Rei, of course, was staring curiously at Master Sha-Fu.

"Who are you two?" Misato asked, finally finding her voice.

"Oh, I am Master Sha-Fu," said the cat-man, "And I am the Grandmaster of the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts Dojo."

"So, you're one of the guys that taught Shinji everything he knows about GekiJyuKen," concluded Misato.

"Indeed," Sha-Fu confirmed. "Gou here was the one who took Shinji into our school."

"Found the kid on the side of the road, crying. He told me his dad left him behind and I couldn't really leave him like that so I just picked him up. Since then, Shinji here started living with us," Gou explained.

Rei reached up to Master Sha-Fu's face and touched it. The fur was soft and warm, and felt real, like a real cat's fur.

"Wondergirl, what are you doing!-?" exclaimed Asuka.

"He's soft," said Rei as she continued to run Sha-Fu's face, making him purr. Gou just rolled his eyes.

"So, where's Shinji-kun?" asked Gou.

"He's gone missing," answered Misato. She wasn't supposed to reveal such classified information to civilians, even if they were close to Shinji. Kannami, however, didn't share the same qualms.

"His Eva went crazy and absorbed him," answered Kannami bluntly. Misato stared at him, horrified, as Master Sha-Fu and Gou frowned.

"You mean that purple mecha absorbed him?" Gou asked.

"Yeah, they were doing this synch test involving Ikari-kun using Kageki and then things went crazy," answered Kannami. He looked to Misato, answering her silent question, "They would need to know anyway, Misato. They're his family."

"OK, I get that Shinji learnt GekiJyuKen from you guys," said Asuka, "But why do you look like that?"

"Oh, this?" Master Sha-Fu asked, referring to his current appearance, "This form is a result of complete mastery of GekiJyuKen. I've been this way for over 4,000 years."

"4,000 YEARS!-?-!-?" Misato and Asuka yelled in shock. If they hadn't met Shinji and learnt of GekiJyuKen then maybe they wouldn't have believed it. Heck, if Misato had been drinking beer she would've spat it out like a fire hose.

"Could you take us to NERV and to this Evangelion?" requested Master Sha-Fu.

"Why?" asked Misato.

"I do believe I know how to get him back."

* * *

NERV personnel could only gawk at Misato and her entourage. Misato was used to getting looks from the guys for being such an attractive woman but that wasn't the reason they were staring. It was because she was escorting Master Sha-Fu, an actual cat-man, to the Eva Cages. Asuka, Rei, Kannami and Gou were also coming along to see Sha-Fu perform the miracle he'd promised.

"Security seemed a little lax," observed Gou.

"The Section 2 security force is being reorganized right now after the late Commander Ikari died," said Misato.

"Shinji-kun's father died?" asked Master Sha-Fu.

"Yeah, and good riddance," grinned Kannami, only to receive a disapproving frown from Master Sha-Fu. "Sorry."

"It was in my hopes that Shinji-kun would reconcile with him, but I guess that was not meant to be," said Master Sha-Fu.

"The two of them are stubborn," Misato told him. "But don't tell Shinji I said that. He doesn't like to be compared to him. Right now, Commander Fuyutsuki is in charge."

Misato led the group to the Eva cages where they saw Ritsuko and Maya still working on a way to get Shinji out of his Eva when the blonde scientist looked up. She said, "Misato I'm…" Her voice got caught in her throat as she saw Master Sha-Fu.

"Ritz, stop gawking," scolded Misato. "It's rude."

"B-b-b-but! That's a cat-man!" Ritsuko pointed.

"You must get that reaction a lot," Asuka whispered to Master Sha-Fu.

"I am Master Sha-Fu, the Grandmaster of the GekiJyuKen Beast Arts School," Sha-Fu introduced himself before giving Ritsuko a polite bow. "You are Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, correct?"

Ritsuko could only nod dumbly but seeing Sha-Fu made her want to stroke his fur to see how soft it was. She loved cats, absolutely loved them.

Maya was still gaping at the cat-man.

Ritsuko, recovering, spoke, "I'm sorry, Master Sha-Fu, but you can't be in here right now. We're trying to get Pilot Ikari out of the Eva."

Master Sha-Fu looked up at the purple mecha with its chest armor missing and exposing a round, red core with machines hooked up to it. He could sense that the machine was alive. His eyes opened slightly and he began to try and search for Shinji's Geki signature.

"He is in there and alive," said Master Sha-Fu. "I can feel his Geki. It's strong."

"Misato, why did you bring him here?" asked Ritsuko.

"Ritz, he's gonna bring Shinji back," said Misato.

* * *

Shinji was performing a fan dance for his mother like he'd been taught by Master Bat Li. When he was done, Yui applauded.

"That was lovely, Shinji!" his mother said. That dance was just so graceful and it looked like her son was as light as a feather. She then saw him looking at the sky. "Shinji?"

"I sense him," said Shinji.

"Sense who?" Yui asked.

"Master…Sha-Fu."

* * *

Master Sha-Fu's Geki was blazing, rolling off him in overwhelming flames as he looked upon the Evangelion intently. Ritsuko had always been curious of the potential of Geki but what she was feeling was something entirely different. Even Asuka and Misato felt overwhelming power in Master Sha-Fu's presence. Gou, Rei and Kannami, however, looked calm but the blue-haired girl also looked hopefully as the Grandmaster continued to summon forth his Geki. His paws were on the core as he tried to make a connection.

"Shinji, can you hear me?" Master Sha-Fu called.

* * *

"_Shinji, can you hear me?" _

"Master Sha-Fu!" exclaimed Shinji. "Yes, I can hear you! You came!"

"_My boy, of course we did. We're family, after all! Is someone else there with you? I sense another presence."_

"Oh, it's my mom!" Shinji was just so happy right now that he just blurted it out. "Mom, this is Master Sha-Fu! He's the one who taught me about GekiJyuKen!"

"I am honored," said Yui, unsure of what else to say, but she was grateful that this man had taken in her son and raised him.

"_Shinji, listen to me. I need you to call on your Kageki. I am going to get you out,"_ said Master Sha-Fu.

"But…" Shinji glanced at Yui.

"_There are people here who need you, Shinji! I'm sorry but I'll only be able to bring you out."_

"Go," said Yui.

Shinji looked to the ground with fists clenched and then he let loose a howl like a wolf. His Kageki flared out around him and Yui was nearly blown away.

* * *

Back in the real world, Master Sha-Fu felt the connection. It was time. "Alright!"

* * *

"This is goodbye, Shinji, but at least you'll know that I'll always be watching over you," said Yui as she hugged her son. He returned the hug but wasn't letting go. "Shinji?"

"I'm not losing you again," said Shinji resolutely. "One way or another, you're coming back with me!"

* * *

The core was glowing red and the machinery was going crazy. "There's a reaction coming from the core!" reported Maya.

"Everyone, back away," said Master Sha-Fu. He was going to catch Shinji when he came out. A human silhouette could be seen but it looked too big to be a single person. Then, LCL suddenly gushed out of the hot red core and Shinji was ejected out, shocking everyone. However, he was not alone. Just as naked as he was and in his arms was a woman.

"Shinji…" Rei could feel tears of happiness flow from her eyes as she saw her Shinji again. Master Sha-Fu, Kannami and Gou went to check on the young JyuKen artist, separating him from the woman he was holding onto.

"They are alive," said Master Sha-Fu and his gaze fell on the woman. "Yui Ikari…" he uttered. Shinji had a picture of her on the day Gou had brought him along. He never parted with it, ever. It was his precious treasure and this woman resembled the picture perfectly.

Ritsuko gasped. '_Yui Ikari!-?_' Ritsuko knew a lot about how the Evangelions needed souls and how Eva-01 had completely absorbed Yui Ikari. It was in the reports she'd read and how Gendo would tell her that he'd 'free Yui from the beast' one day. Legally, Yui Ikari was declared dead but she and Fuyutsuki knew better.

Speaking of Fuyutsuki, he was running down the platform of the Eva Cages to see if it was true and nearly had a heart attack! "Yui…" he uttered.

"We should get them to the hospital," said Gou. "Master Sha-Fu, how do you feel?"

"Drained, but I'll be fine," said Sha-Fu. He was immediately engulfed in a hug by Misato. "Nyaow?"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Misato cried.

* * *

**Kamen Rider Chrome: Looks like Shinji and Yui are back in the mortal realm! Of course they don't know what happened to Gendo. Wonder how they will react. Well stay tune for the next exciting chapter of this story to find out more!**


End file.
